Subject Code & Title :- GEOP8040 Climate Change And Society
Assessment Type :- Assignment
Weighting :- 40%
Assessment Name :- Case study research essay
Task: A 2500 word research essay of a case study of a particular climate change issue in the context of vulnerability adaptation and transition.
GEOP8040 Climate Change And Society Assignment – Australia.

Purpose : Apply your understanding of climate change and society through a research-based case study essay. You will present an example of the social dimensions of climate change relevant to the question focusing in on a particular context and issue (e.g. just transition from coal in the Hunter Valley). The essay seeks to encourage students to apply critical theory to analyse the sustainable, ethical and justice dimensions of a particular case study as well as develop their research and communication skills.

Question: Drawing on a particular climate change context and issue consider:

• How might society-environment relations be reimagined in order to develop more sustainable and just responses to climate change and what currently prevents such a transformation?

Reflective Journal of Change

Task: Social responses to climate change occur at many scales including at the individual scale. Over a 4 week period from week 7 over recess and until week 9 of the unit students are asked to commit to making a change in one aspect of their life that contributes to more sustainable ethical and just responses to climate change. Students will regularly contribute to a journal (via a private blog on i Learn) and discuss in class online their individual response to climate change and what personal political and structural processes enable and constrain their contribution to change.

Purpose: The purpose of this assessment is to experiment with change. Students will be asked to keep a reflective journal adding brief reflections each week on their own (private) blog via i Learn in response to prompts from the convenor building on discussions in-class and online.

This is a 4 week change experiment beginning in week 7 continuing over the two-week recess and finishing in week 9.Through experimenting with a change in practice or behaviour students are asked to engage with a contemporary climate change-related issue and contribute through their actions to a change eg. change in diet such as go vegan vegetarian or meat-free for 4 weeks or 3 days each week or once a week have a regular conversation with someone about climate change or extinction only use public transport refuse to use plastic volunteer for an environmental social justice cause write letters to a political leader make regular contributions to open forums public submissions at community forums learn an Indigenous language or about the Indigenous history of your local area).

Submission: Your blog posts will form the basis of the Reflective Journal of Change which is due in week 10. The Reflective Journal of Change is a maximum of 1500 words. In addition to relevant literature you can quote directly from your blog posts. You are asked to reflect upon the change experiment and address the following question:

• Reflecting on your change experiment what practical political and personal factors enabled or constrained your contribution to a more sustainable ethical and just response to climate change?
Skills: This task focuses on skills concerning reflection negotiation and analysis.

Presentation on climate change and society (20%)

Task: 5 minute presentation that draws on the readings plus additional research on a key concept and related tool connected to some aspect of climate change and society.

Purpose: This assessment task seeks to encourage students to think about the role of key concepts and tools in the social dimensions of climate change. The task requires students to engage with course materials as well as undertaking some research on their chosen concept and tool (e.g. climate change adaptation and vulnerability assessment climate change mitigation and scenarios displacement and climate finance).

GEOP8040 Climate Change And Society Assignment – Australia.

Skills: Ability to synthesis and communicate complex information clearly and effectively.The presentation seek to enhance student’s communication skills in visual and oral forms.

Submission: The presentations will be in class for In-person students in Weeks 12 and 13 and uploaded online by Week 13 for Online-flexible students. All students will need to submit a PDF of their PowerPoint slides via Turnitin with a maximum of five slides and 100 words.