MECHATRONICS ENGINEERING
Bachelor TR-NQF-HE: Level 6 QF-EHEA: First Cycle EQF-LLL: Level 6

Course Introduction and Application Information

Course Code Course Name Semester Theoretical Practical Credit ECTS
POL3353 Environmental Politics Fall 3 0 3 6
This catalog is for information purposes. Course status is determined by the relevant department at the beginning of semester.

Basic information

Language of instruction: English
Type of course: Non-Departmental Elective
Course Level: Bachelor’s Degree (First Cycle)
Mode of Delivery: Hybrid
Course Coordinator : Assoc. Prof. ESRA ALBAYRAKOĞLU
Course Lecturer(s): Assoc. Prof. ZEYNEP HANDE PAKER UNCU
Recommended Optional Program Components: None
Course Objectives: This course aims to analyze state structures, the capitalist world economy, environmental organizations and social movements as well as their interaction in a global geography which all affect the politics of the environment. In other words, these actors on the global scene have differing and often conflicting views on what the problem is and what to do about it. Thus, environmental politics is controversial as well as vital. It is also global in nature as environmental problems recognize no national borders. At the same time, a lot of the environmental issues are manifested locally, generating local environmental conflicts. This course will offer a political ecology framework within which to understand all of these issues while introducing the students to relevant concepts and debates such as the tragedy of the commons, the global commons, sustainable development, ecological modernization, risk society, deep ecology, North-South issues and ideas of nature and progress.

Learning Outcomes

The students who have succeeded in this course;
The students who have succeeded in this course can
1. Recognize the scale and scope of the problem;
2. Understand various aspects of the ecological crisis such as pollution, conservation, ecosystem destruction, natural resource depletion, and global warming;
3. Become familiar with relevant ideas of ecology, limits, risk, commons and sustainability;
4. Interpret the links between environmental degradation, economic and political choices and lifestyles, citizenship;
5. Analyze the role of social and political actors in global environmental governance;
6. Develop competencies with respect to comparative inquiry and critical thinking;


Course Content

Environmental degradation has intensified. We have a climate crisis on our hands. Environmentalists are concerned about pollution, conservation, ecosystem destruction, natural resource depletion, and climate change all of which threaten our planet and future life on earth. State structures, the capitalist world economy, environmental organizations and social movements and their interaction in a global geography all affect the politics of the environment. In other words, these actors on the global scene have differing and often conflicting views on what the problem is and what to do about it. Thus, environmental politics is controversial as well as vital. It is also global in nature as environmental problems recognize no national borders. At the same time, a lot of the environmental issues are manifested locally, generating local environmental conflicts. This course will offer a political ecology framework within which to understand all of these issues while introducing the students to relevant concepts and debates such as the tragedy of the commons, the global commons, sustainable development, ecological modernization, risk society, deep ecology, North-South issues and ideas of nature and progress.

Weekly Detailed Course Contents

Week Subject Related Preparation
1) Introduction
2) Introducing framework and historical background *Introduction, Green Planet Blues (Conca, Alberty and Dabelko ed.s, 1995), p. 3-12. Visual material: Planet Earth
3) Growth, limits, and the commons *Meadows, Meadows, Randers and Behrens III. 1998.‘The Nature of Exponential Growth’, in Debating the Earth, The Environmental Politics Reader, Dryzec and Schlosberg eds. p. 9-22. *Hardin. 1995 (1968).‘The Tragedy of the Commons’, in Conca, Alberty and Dabelko (eds.), Green Planet Blues, p. 38-45. Feeny, Berkes, McCay, Acheson. 1995 (1990).‘The Tragedy of the Commons: Twenty-Two Years Later’, in Conca, Alberty and Dabelko (eds.), Green Planet Blues: p. 53-62. *Ostrom, E. 1994. ‘Neither market nor state: Governance of common-pool resources in the twenty-first century’, Lecture series 2, International Food Policy Research Institute. **choice of project actor due**
4) Environment and development: the sustainability debate-I *World Commission on Environment and Development. 2004. ‘From One Earth to One World’, in F. J. Lechner and J. Boli (eds.), The Globalization Reader, Blackwell: p.366-372. UN Conference on Environment and Development, ‘Rio Declaration on Environment and Development’, in F. J. Lechner and J. Boli (eds.), The Globalization Reader, Blackwell: p. 373-376. *Daly, H. E. 1998 (1990). ‘Sustainable Growth: An Impossibility Theorem’, in Debating the Earth, Environmental Politics Reader, J. Dryzec and D. Schlosberg (eds.), Oxford University Press: p. 285-289.
5) Environment and development: the sustainability debate- II *Carruthers, D. 2005 (2000). ‘From Opposition to Orthodoxy’: the Remaking of Sustainable Development’ in Debating the Earth, Environmental Politics Reader, J. Dryzec and D. Schlosberg (eds.), Oxford University Press: p. 285-300. Baker, S. 2007, ‘Sustainable development as symbolic commitment: Declaratory politics and the seductive appeal of ecological modernization in the European Union’, Environmental Politics, 16:2, 297-317. Meadowcroft, J. 2005 (2000). ‘Sustainable Development: A New(ish) Idea for a New Century?’, in Debating the Earth, Environmental Politics Reader, J. Dryzec and D. Schlosberg (eds.), Oxford University Press: p. 265-284. Visual material: Learning from Ladakh
6) Environment and modernity: ecological modernization, risk society, deep ecology (anthropocentric versus ecological views) *Barry, J. 2005 (2003). ‘Ecological Modernization’ in Debating the Earth, Environmental Politics Reader, J. Dryzec and D. Schlosberg (eds.), Oxford University Press: p. 303-321. York, R., E. A. Rosa, and T. Dietz. 2003. “Footprints on the Earth: the Environmental Consequences of Modernity”, American Sociological Review, 68, 2: 279-300. Mol, A. P. J. 2002. ‘Ecological Modernization and the Global Economy’, Global Environmental Politics, 2 (February): 92-115. *Beck, U. 1998 (1992). ‘From Industrial Society to the Risk Society: Questions of Survival, Social Structure, and Ecological Enlightment’, in Debating the Earth, Environmental Politics Reader, J. Dryzec and D. Schlosberg (eds.), Oxford University Press: p. 327-346.
7) Environment and modernity II: deep ecology, anthropocentric versus ecological views, political ecology *Dobson, A., 2003, ‘Ch.3: Ecological Citizenship’ in Citizenship and the Environment, Oxford University Press: p. 92-102, 105-108, 111-115. ‘Green political economy and the promise of the social economy’, J. Barry and G. Smith in Handbook of Global Environmental Politics, P. Dauverge (ed.), 2005, UK and USA: Edward Elgar. Bakker, K. 2007. ‘The ‘Commons’ Versus’ the ‘Commodity’: Alter-globalization, Anti-privatization and the Human Right to Water in the Global South’, Antipode. Arsel, M, B. Akbulut, ve F. Adaman. 2016. ‘Türkiye’de Kalkınmacılığı Yeniden Okumak: Hes’ler ve dönüşen Devlet-Toplum-Doğa İlişkileri’, İletişim. Paker, H. 2017. ‘The politics of serving’ and neoliberal developmentalism: the megaprojects of the AKP as tools of hegemony building’, in Adaman, Akbulut and Arsel (ed.), Neoliberal Turkey and its discontents: Economic policy and the environment under Erdoğan’, I. B. Tauris.
8) Framing the problem: The environmental movement *Agyeman, J. et al. 2016. ‘Trends and Directions in Environmental Justice: From Inequity to Everyday Life, Community, and Just Sustainabilities’, Annual Review of Environment and Resources *Doherty, B. and T. Doyle, 2006, ‘Beyond Borders: Transnational politics, social movements and modern environmentalisms’, Environmental Politics, 15, 5: 697-712. Keck, M. and K. Sikkink. 1998. Activists Beyond Borders: Advocacy Networks in International Politics. Ithaca: Cornell University Press.
9) Urgent matters: climate change *Genovese, F., 2014, ‘States’ interests at international climate negotiations: new measures of bargaining positions’, Environmental Politics, 23, 4: 610-631. *Bäckstrand, Karin, Jonathan W. Kuyper, Björn-Ola Linnér & Eva Lövbrand, 2017, Non-state actors in global climate governance: from Copenhagen to Paris and beyond, Environmental Politics, 26:4, 561-579. *Vanderheiden, S., 2011, ‘The Politics of Energy: An introduction’, Environmental Politics, 20, 5:607-616. Visual material: Age of Stupid **Assignment 1 due** https://juliesbicycle.com/resource_hub/climate-literacy-101/ **Presentation outline due**
10) The global commons: limits of national politics and issues of governance Newell. 2005. ‘Towards a political economy of global environmental governance’ in P. Dauverge (eds.), Handbook of Global Environmental Politics, Edward Elgar: 187-201. *Soroos. 2005. ‘Garret Hardin and tragedies of global commons’, in P. Dauverge (eds.), Handbook of Global Environmental Politics, Edward Elgar. *Downie, C., 2014, ‘Transnational actors in environmental politics: strategies and influence in long negotiations’, Environmental Politics, 23, 3: 376-394.
11) Presentations
12) Presentations
13) Environmental Politics in Turkey *Arsel, M., B. Akbulut, and F. Adaman. 2015. ‘Environmentalism of the malcontent: anatomy of an anti-coal power plant struggle’, Journal of Peasant Studies, 42, 2: 371- 395. *Paker, H., F. Adaman, Z. Kadirbeyoglu, and B Ozkaynak, 2013, ‘Environmental organizations in Turkey: engaging the state and finance capital’, Environmental Politics, 22, 5: 760-778. Kadirbeyoglu, Z. 2005. ‘Assessing the Efficacy of Transnational Advocacy Networks’ in Environmentalism in Turkey: Between Democracy and Development,F. Adaman and M. Arsel (eds.), Ashgate: p. 101-116.
14) Review and general evaluation

Sources

Course Notes / Textbooks: Weekly readings will be uploaded on Teams at the beginning of the semester. Please note that all book chapters and articles listed on the syllabus are also accessible through the BAU Library.
The PPT files will be shared on Teams following each class.
References: Mevcut Değil

Evaluation System

Semester Requirements Number of Activities Level of Contribution
Attendance 14 % 20
Project 3 % 40
Final 1 % 40
Total % 100
PERCENTAGE OF SEMESTER WORK % 20
PERCENTAGE OF FINAL WORK % 80
Total % 100

ECTS / Workload Table

Activities Number of Activities Workload
Course Hours 14 42
Study Hours Out of Class 14 58
Project 3 48
Final 1 2
Total Workload 150

Contribution of Learning Outcomes to Programme Outcomes

No Effect 1 Lowest 2 Low 3 Average 4 High 5 Highest
           
Program Outcomes Level of Contribution
1) Build up a body of knowledge in mathematics, science and Mechatronics Engineering subjects; use theoretical and applied information in these areas to model and solve complex engineering problems.
2) Identify, formulate, and solve complex Mechatronics Engineering problems; select and apply proper modeling and analysis methods for this purpose.
3) Design complex Mechatronic systems, processes, devices or products under realistic constraints and conditions, in such a way as to meet the desired result; apply modern design methods for this purpose.
4) Devise, select, and use modern techniques and tools needed for solving complex problems in Mechatronics Engineering practice; employ information technologies effectively.
5) Design and conduct numerical or pysical experiments, collect data, analyze and interpret results for investigating the complex problems specific to Mechatronics Engineering.
6) Cooperate efficiently in intra-disciplinary and multi-disciplinary teams; and show self-reliance when working on Mechatronics-related problems.
7) Ability to communicate effectively in English and Turkish (if he/she is a Turkish citizen), both orally and in writing. Write and understand reports, prepare design and production reports, deliver effective presentations, give and receive clear and understandable instructions.
8) Recognize the need for life-long learning; show ability to access information, to follow developments in science and technology, and to continuously educate oneself.
9) Develop an awareness of professional and ethical responsibility, and behave accordingly. Be informed about the standards used in Mechatronics Engineering applications.
10) Learn about business life practices such as project management, risk management, and change management; develop an awareness of entrepreneurship, innovation, and sustainable development.
11) Acquire knowledge about the effects of practices of Mechatronics Engineering on health, environment, security in universal and social scope, and the contemporary problems of Mechatronics engineering; is aware of the legal consequences of Mechatronics engineering solutions.