Undergraduate Module Descriptor

SOC2129: Climate Change in Global and Local Perspectives

This module descriptor refers to the 2022/3 academic year.

Module Aims

This module aims to help students understand climate change as a social, economic, and political problem, in terms of both the causes and consequences of global heating. You will be introduced to a range of social scientific approaches to the study of climate change, from political ecology and anthropology to history, archaeology and sociology. You will then apply these analytical tools to a range of cross-cultural examples to explore the diverse ways in which humans understand and respond to climate change. 

Intended Learning Outcomes (ILOs)

This module's assessment will evaluate your achievement of the ILOs listed here – you will see reference to these ILO numbers in the details of the assessment for this module.
On successfully completing the programme you will be able to:
Module-Specific Skills1. Demonstrate familiarity with the major contemporary social scientific approaches to the study of climate change
2. Show an understanding of a broad range of cross-cultural climate impacts and responses of local communities
Discipline-Specific Skills3. Show an understanding of key concepts in social scientific approaches to climate change, e.g. climate justice, traditional ecological knowledge, mitigation and adaptation, sustainability, Anthropocene, climate denial
4. Evaluate key concepts related to climate change
Personal and Key Skills5. Communicate effectively in written and oral form
6. Conduct research on a topic and organize findings in written form in a compelling manner

Module Content

Syllabus Plan

Whilst the module’s precise content may vary from year to year, it is envisaged that the syllabus will cover some or all of the following topics:

climate justice

traditional ecological knowledge

climate denial

government policy

scientific models

extreme weather events.

Learning and Teaching

This table provides an overview of how your hours of study for this module are allocated:

Scheduled Learning and Teaching ActivitiesGuided independent studyPlacement / study abroad
22128

...and this table provides a more detailed breakdown of the hours allocated to various study activities:

CategoryHours of study timeDescription
Schedule Learning and Teaching Activity22Weekly 2-hour lectures/seminars or 1 hour lecture + 1 hour seminar.
Guided Independent Study40Weekly reading for seminars
Guided Independent Study60Essay writing and research
Guided Independent Study28Film watching and writing review

Online Resources

This module has online resources available via ELE (the Exeter Learning Environment).

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.

  • Susan Crate and Mark Nuttall, eds., Anthropology and Climate Change: From Actions to Transformations. Routledge, 2016.
  • Susan A. Crate and Mark Nuttall, eds., Anthropology and Climate Change: From Encounters to Actions. Left Coast Press, 2009.
  • Kari Marie Norgaard. Living in denial: Climate change, emotions, and everyday life. MIT Press, 2011
  • Giovanni Bennardo, ed. Cultural Models of Nature: Primary Food Producers and Climate Change. Routledge, 2019.
  • Amelia Moore. Destination Anthropocene: Global Change Science, Tourism, and the Rebranding of Island Space in The Bahamas. University of California Press, 2018.
  • Henry Shue. Climate justice: Vulnerability and protection. Oxford University Press, 2014.
  • Kirsten Hastrup and Martin Skrydstrup, eds. The social life of climate change models: Anticipating nature. Routledge, 2013.