Directed Studies courses are designed by a student and faculty instructor to meet the needs of a student in an area that is not addressed in the current curriculum. RES students may register in an RES Directed Studies course with the approval of their supervisor and the RES Graduate Advisor. You must have an approved RES Directed Studies Form prior to registering in this course.

Instructor: Gunilla Oberg

Day/Time: Thursdays 2:00 – 5:00 pm

Location: AERL 419

Enrollment: Graduate students that either conduct natural science studies or study scientific practices (or advanced undergraduates with instructor approval and completed G+PS form)

Description

Scientific expertise is under fire. There is an urgent need for scientists and science scholars to jointly grapple with the attacks on science by populist politicians who claim that expertise is elitist and a threat to democracy. In this course, students will jointly explore how science experts can support democracy without turning democracy over to experts.

Science students will grapple with the role of value-judgments in science and how it plays out in their own field of research.

Humanities students studying the scientific enterprise will grapple with the communication barrier between science studies and the scientific practice.

Through the use historic and contemporary cases, students will work in mixed groups to jointly seek ways to fruitfully navigate the divide between the two communities to find ways to appreciate the social elements of science while seeking a constructive way out of the post-truth quagmire.

Background: Science studies have raised questions about the role of expertise in a democracy. Who counts as an expert? Who should be at the table? It is well documented that scientists on opposite sides of a policy-relevant scientific controversy commonly perceive the other side as biased but see themselves as objective. More data and rigorous analysis rarely resolve such conflicts, yet the expectation is that it is possible to reach consensus. This expectation hinges on the idea that the scientific enterprise is free of values and that science is a deliverer of irrefutable facts. Value-judgments are a necessary part of rigorous science because 100% certainty will never reign. Consensus is therefore not always possible and probably not even desirable. Yet, little is known about how to sensibly navigate this terrain.

Instructor: Gail Hochachka

Day/Time: Tuesdays 10:00 am – 1:00 pm

Location: Neville Scarfe 1020

Enrollment: Graduate students that either conduct natural science studies or study scientific practices (or advanced undergraduates with instructor approval and completed G+PS form)

Description

Addressing climate change is as much a social and psychological challenge as it is a technical and scientific one. The ability to take action on climate change rests upon the ability to engage whole populations and a diverse suite of actors on a shared challenge. Yet, inspiring and sustaining climate action is difficult for many reasons; such as, due to the psychological complexity of this issue, to the emotions and trauma that it can evoke, to an insufficient social mandate for climate policies, to an array of justice and equity concerns, and to the systemic barriers for low-carbon futures.

In this graduate-level seminar, students will learn about, and practice addressing, the challenges of climate change communications and engagement. Readings, lectures, and assignments will enable students to learn about psychological, social, and systemic dimensions of climate engagement, as well as the various ways that climate change practitioners, scientists, or communicators carry out engagement. Students will interrogate the information-deficit model and the techno-managerial approach predominantly used in climate engagement strategies, they will reflect critically on the trends towards polarization and the possibilities for ‘deep relationalism’ in Canada, and they will learn about and put into practice alternative engagement approaches. The emphasis in this course is placed on students gaining practical skills and competencies around community engagement on climate action. The course is designed to support students in experiential- and peer-learning, with an emphasis on how to bridge climate concern with climate action, how to effectively communicate about climate change with diverse audiences, and how to intervene in real-world solutions. Using a student-led approach, students will have the opportunity to design and trial different forms of communications (e.g. podcast, social media campaigns, white papers) and public engagement approaches (e.g.facilitation skills, group sessions, workshop discussions) on climate change, and connect these activities with real-world climate initiatives for improved public understanding and uptake of climate action.

Instructor: Mark Johnson

Day/Time: Thursdays 9:00 am – 12:00 pm

Location: AERL 107

Enrollment: RES Graduate Students. Non-RES graduate students or advanced undergraduates may register with instructor approval.

Description

This is a course in which case studies are used to teach how sustainability questions are turned into researchable topics and what research methods (qualitative and quantitative) are used to arrive at answers.  The case studies will reflect the various foci of research at IRES.  The case studies will begin with simple questions and grow in sophistication and complexity.  Case studies will be used to explore similarities and differences in how questions in different domains are structured and researched. The students in the class will then be encouraged to develop the research questions and proposed methods for their own thesis by work-shopping their ideas in the class setting and through one-on-one mentoring with class instructors.

The case studies will be selected with the aim of highlighting key features of good research design, how different perspectives (theoretically, conceptually and methodologically) can lead to different kinds of research and how there is value in these different approaches, and foster the search for even better hybrid approaches.

Given the wide range of incoming academic and professional backgrounds among the students, peer mentoring will be used within the class to help bolster knowledge of and familiarity with qualitative and quantitative methods.
The goals of this course are to:

• foster literacy in research methods and bring about familiarity with good research design;
• initiate design of the research proposals for every student.

2023-2024 RES 502 Course Outline *Master’s

Instructor: Terre Satterfield

Day/Time: Tuesdays 2:00 – 5:00pm

Location: AERL 107

Enrollment: RES Graduate Students. Non-RES graduate students or advanced undergraduates may register with instructor approval.

Description

Survey research is increasingly popular among interdisciplinary environmental social and natural scientists. This seminar aims to harness that interest to develop survey design skills appropriate to environmental social scientists. It is best suited for graduate level and senior undergraduate level students who have either minimal training in survey methods or are transitioning from disciplines not normally acquainted with these. We will address survey design fundamentals such as: hypothesis development, structure and question order, problems of validity and reliability, the problem of behaviour and choice and direct versus indirect elicitation of preferences. We will also cover sampling strategies for different lay and expert communities. A particular focus for design will be the subfields known as: environmental values, attitudes and beliefs; perceived environmental risks; climate beliefs and actions; meanings of landscape and place; relational values; and indices of social-ecological and cultural-ecological well-being. Theory and practice for developing scales or indices where none exist or where the design involves ‘difficult to measure’ phenomena or where interactive survey designs are key will also be examined. Students will also become familiar with and literate in practices pertaining to research ethics, including sensitivity to local norms, racialized sample frames, gender, power, data sharing and ownership. The course will be workshop intensive and thus is most suited for students who already have a particular field-relevant research topic or objective in mind. One key end goal for the seminar is a fully theorized and realized survey instrument that is largely ready for piloting and data collection.

Instructor: Claire Kremen

Day/Time: Wednesdays 9:00 am – 12:00 pm

Location:  AERL 107

Enrollment: Graduate Students (or advanced undergraduates with instructor approval and completed G+PS form)

Description

Dynamics of environmental issues across temporal and spatial scales using disciplinary and interdisciplinary approaches to integrating sociological, cultural, and ecological perspectives. This course considers interdisciplinary socio-ecological approaches that allow us to consider intwined social and ecological processes together.. Course content will include exposure to core concepts and debates from SES, political ecology and allied fields associated methods that focus on the integration of socio-ecological perspectives. as well as several case studies. Attention will also be paid to the evaluation of perspectives where such integration does not occur and why this matters. Students will leave the course with an understanding of (i) how these interlinked systems and dynamics function, (ii) how existing policies, incentives, governance regimes, behaviours (individual and collective), and preferences affect these systems and processes and (iii) how new policies and institutions might learn from available research to better promote sustainable trajectories. Students will also engage in a whole-class applied research project to experience first-hand the challenges and opportunities of conducting interdisciplinary social ecological systems research and synthesis.

Instructor: Amanda Giang

Day/Time: Wednesdays 2:00 – 5:00 pm

Location: AERL 107

Enrollment: RES Graduate Students. Non-RES graduate students or advanced undergraduates may register with instructor approval.

Description

This course will introduce students to the policy debates and responses created by climate change, which has emerged as the most complex environmental challenge facing the planet. On the one hand, changes in global climate are likely to have significant impacts in many parts of the world, and while a small number of regions / sectors may benefit many others could be devastated. On the other hand, reducing greenhouse gas emissions poses significant technological, economic and political challenges. Reductions of greenhouse gas gases will be made in the presence of incomplete information and continued scientific and economic uncertainty. Changes in human behaviour and technological innovations of the magnitude needed to significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions may be difficult to achieve.

2021-22 RES 520 Course Outline

Directed Studies courses are designed by a student and faculty instructor to meet the needs of a student in an area that is not addressed in the current curriculum. RES students may register in an RES Directed Studies course with the approval of their supervisor and the RES Graduate Advisor. You must have an approved RES Directed Studies Form prior to registering in this course.

Instructor: Leila Harris

Day/Time: Tuesdays 9:00 am – 12:00 pm

Location: AERL 107

Enrollment: Graduate Students (or advanced undergraduates with instructor approval and completed G+PS form)

Description

This course offers an introduction to qualitative research approaches and their practical applications for interdisciplinary research related to socio-ecological sustainability. Using a student-led learning format, we will undertake original research as well as read and critically assess qualitative research conducted in interdisciplinary contexts. We will discuss the relationship between research motivations, paradigms, and methodological choices, ethical considerations and the process of ethics review, and fieldwork experiences in both academic and applied research settings. Careful examination of representation, voice, reflexivity and researcher positioning will be investigated as part of the course. The course includes activities and assessments related to qualitative research design, ethics approvals, fieldwork methods (including observation and fieldnotes, interviewing, focus groups, visual and arts-based methods, community engagement) and approaches to qualitative data analysis, including coding, analysis, and write up. Students will design and carry out an original field research project incorporating qualitative methods. Options include projects with UBC SEEDS collaborators to improve sustainability issues on the UBC campus.

Course Syllabus

Instructor: Milind Kandlikar

Day/Time: Thursdays 2:00 pm – 5:00 pm

Location: AERL 107

Enrollment: RES Graduate Students. Non-RES graduate students or advanced undergraduates may register with instructor approval.

Description

The influence of science and technology on public policy is bidirectional. Science and technology (S&T) is influenced by policy decisions (policy for science) and in turn influences public policy (science for policy). The course introduces students to basic models for understanding this bidirectional interaction. We will draw upon literature in a wide range of disciplines including: economics of technological change, philosophy of science, environmental science and engineering, social studies of science, and history of technology. We will also rely upon the extensive writings of scientists and engineers in their role as policy observers and advisors. This year’s case studies will focus on the on-going energy transition. We will draw upon energy transition cases from across the world — from both industrialized and developing countries.

2018-2019 RES 507 Course Syllabus

Instructor: Kai Chan

Day/Time: Wednesdays 2:00 pm – 5:00 pm

Location: AERL 107

Enrollment: RES Graduate Students. Non-RES graduate students or advanced undergraduates may register with instructor approval.

Description

Coming Soon

Instructor: Claire Kremen

Day/Time: Mondays 1:00 – 4:00 pm

Location: AERL 107

Enrollment: Graduate Students (or advanced undergraduates with instructor approval and completed G+PS form)

Description

This course is a graduate level seminar with lecture and discussion covering advanced topics in conservation of biological diversity.   We will read a mixture of foundational as well as recent papers covering a range of current topics within Conservation Biology. One of the most exciting aspects of the course is that students will have the opportunity to work in interdisciplinary teams on an active conservation project, commissioned by international and local NGOs (for example, World Wildlife Fund and Delta Wildlife Farmland Trust). Students will prepare deliverables that will help these organizations in their current on-the-ground work, under the guidance of the instructor and the project lead(s) from respective NGOs.  Group projects represent an exciting and unique opportunity to learn while contributing to conservation, and can lead to future projects or co-authored publications, resumé-building and networking. Students will also gain experience leading discussions and developing interactive class exercises.

Instructor: Jiaying Zhao

Day/Time: Wednesdays 9:00 am – 12:00 pm

Location:  AERL 107

Enrollment: Graduate Students

Description

In this course, students will learn how inchoate ideas and topics of interest are turned into researchable topics that are concrete, well-defined, and precise, and what research methods (qualitative and quantitative), rules of evidence, and strategies of proposal development are used to arrive at answers. Topics include research design, presentation, theory, research questions and policy relevance.

The course will begin with the evaluation of published papers and successfully funded proposals. The remaining portions of the course involve an explicit focus on students’ own research designs, which will develop in stages and be iteratively peer-assessed. By the end of the class, students will complete a solid, review-ready proposal for their own thesis work.

Given the wide range of incoming academic and professional backgrounds among the students, peer mentoring will be used within the class to help bolster knowledge of and familiarity with qualitative and quantitative methods. This is an interactive seminar, where robust and consistent participation and attendance is expected of all students. Each week, the class may include lecture, discussions, group problem solving, design workshops, identifications of core ideas, scenario-based learning, and proposal evaluations.