Module SOCM045 for 2021/2
- Overview
- Aims and Learning Outcomes
- Module Content
- Indicative Reading List
- Assessment
Postgraduate Module Descriptor
SOCM045: Food and Sustainability: Economy, Society and Environment
This module descriptor refers to the 2021/2 academic year.
Module Aims
You will read works on food and sustainability from a range of disciplines, including agricultural and aquacultural sciences, environmental studies, nutrition and health sciences, science and technology studies, sociology, anthropology, geography, development studies, and political economy. Through engagement with the literature, you will develop perspectives on food and sustainability at various scales, analysing problems as well as critically examining proposed solutions. The module will prepare you for your own research in the field of study, whether academic or within the context of public institutions, industries, or third sector organisations with an interest in food and its place in sustainable communities, sustainable economies, and sustainable environments.
| On successfully completing the programme you will be able to: | |
|---|---|
| Module-Specific Skills | 1. Critically analyse a range of sustainability challenges in the production, processing, retailing and consumption of food 2. Identify and critically assess the roles of a range of actors of various types and scales in food related sustainability challenges |
| Discipline-Specific Skills | 3. Discern the social, political, economic, and technological factors in food related sustainability challenges 4. Recognize and articulate critical perspectives on a range of proposed solutions to food related sustainability challenges |
| Personal and Key Skills | 5. Critically analyse sources that identify and propose solutions to food related sustainability challenges 6. Present relevant information in support of coherent critical appraisal of food related sustainability challenges and proposed solutions |
Module Content
Syllabus Plan
Introduction: Food, Agriculture, Climate, Biodiversity, Nutrition and Health: Threats, Mitigation and Opportunities
Land, Soil and Productivity
Chemical Inputs and Biodiversity
Biotechnology: Promise and Peril
Antibiotics and Anti-Microbial Resistance
Water
The Global Fisheries Crisis
Food Waste
Regenerative Agriculture and Circular Economies
Meat: from Concentrated Feed Lots, to Pasture, to Veganism
Automation and Artificial Intelligence in Food and Farming
Food Livelihoods, Wellbeing and Sustainable Communities
Learning and Teaching
This table provides an overview of how your hours of study for this module are allocated:
| Scheduled Learning and Teaching Activities | Guided independent study | Placement / study abroad |
|---|---|---|
| 22 | 278 |
...and this table provides a more detailed breakdown of the hours allocated to various study activities:
| Category | Hours of study time | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Scheduled Learning & Teaching activities | 22 | 11 x 2-hour weekly seminar |
| Guided independent study | 50 | 10 x 5-hours weekly reading for seminar preparation |
| Guided independent study | 20 | 10 x 2-hours weekly preparation of reading response papers |
| Guided independent study | 208 | Research and writing of extended essay |
Online Resources
This module has online resources available via ELE (the Exeter Learning Environment).
The Biggest Little Farm, FarmLore Films
The End of the Line, Dartmouth Films
Kiss the Ground, Big Picture Ranch
Gill (2020) It’s Not the Cow, It’s the How, Ted Talk
How this Module is Assessed
In the tables below, you will see reference to 'ILO's. An ILO is an Intended Learning Outcome - see Aims and Learning Outcomes for details of the ILOs for this module.
Formative Assessment
A formative assessment is designed to give you feedback on your understanding of the module content but it will not count towards your mark for the module.
| Form of assessment | Size of the assessment (eg length / duration) | ILOs assessed | Feedback method |
|---|---|---|---|
| Weekly reading response papers | 2 weekly reading response papers totalling 350 words | 1-6 | Written feedback after week 2 |
Summative Assessment
A summative assessment counts towards your mark for the module. The table below tells you what percentage of your mark will come from which type of assessment.
| Coursework | Written exams | Practical exams |
|---|---|---|
| 100 | 0 | 0 |
...and this table provides further details on the summative assessments for this module.
| Form of assessment | % of credit | Size of the assessment (eg length / duration) | ILOs assessed | Feedback method |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Portfolio of weekly reading response papers | 33 | Portfolio of 8 weekly reading response papers totalling 1400 words | 1-6 | Mark with written feedback on portfolio |
| Essay | 67 | 5000-word essay on a relevant topic of students choice, approved by convener | 1-6 | Mark with written feedback |
Re-assessment
Re-assessment takes place when the summative assessment has not been completed by the original deadline, and the student has been allowed to refer or defer it to a later date (this only happens following certain criteria and is always subject to exam board approval). For obvious reasons, re-assessments cannot be the same as the original assessment and so these alternatives are set. In cases where the form of assessment is the same, the content will nevertheless be different.
| Original form of assessment | Form of re-assessment | ILOs re-assessed | Timescale for re-assessment |
|---|---|---|---|
| Portfolio of weekly reading response papers | Portfolio of weekly reading response papers | 1-6 | August/September |
| Essay | Essay | 1-6 | August/September |
Indicative Reading List
This reading list is indicative - i.e. it provides an idea of texts that may be useful to you on this module, but it is not considered to be a confirmed or compulsory reading list for this module.
Jackson, Cameron et al (2021) “Healthy Soil, Healthy Food, Healthy People: An outline of the H3 Project”, Nutrition Bulletin 46(4): 497-505.
Kahn (2016) One Health and the Politics of Antimicrobial Resistance, Johns Hopkins University Press.
Kilpatrick et al (2014) “Supporting Farmer and Fisher Health and Wellbeing in ‘Difficult Times’: Communities of Place and Industry Associations”, Rural Society 22(1): 31-44.
Oosterveer and Sonnenfeld (2012) Food, Globalization and Sustainability, Earthscan.
Pretty (2004) The Pesticide Detox: Towards a More Sustainable Agriculture, Routledge.
Sage (2012) Environment and Food, Routledge.
Schurman and Munro (2010) Fighting for the Future of Food: Activists versus Agribusiness in the Struggle over Biotechnology, University of Minnesota Press.
Sexton, Garnett and Lorimer (2022) “Vegan Food Geographies and the Rise of Big Veganism”, Progress in Human Geography.
Temm, Marshood and Stedman-Edwards (2008) The Global Fisheries Crisis, Poverty and Coastal Small-Scale Fishers, WWF.
Thu and Durrenberger (1998) Pigs, Profits and Rural Communities, State University of New York Press.
Wolfert et al (2017) “Big Data in Smart Farming: A Review”, Agricultural Systems 153: 69-80.
