This interactive lecture with elements of seminar presents new ways of thinking about climate change and ecology from a gender and - more broadly - intersectional perspective. It introduces students to an interdisciplinary field combining knowledge from ecology, economics, physics, philosophy and ethics, and public policy.Activities planned during classes will allow students to become familiar with old and new economic paradigms, their critical evaluation, the latest research methods and indicators of sustainability, and theories on such topics as biophysical boundaries, contemporary environmental ethics and sustainable economic policy in the service of nature and society.Upon completion of the course, students will be able to analyse socio-ecological problems, select appropriate tools to measure them and identify possible solutions for ecological economic and social policies.

The content presented in the form of active learning, with case studies and empirical data discussed, is designed to train students’ academic skills byengaging them in critical analysis, active communication and collaboration.

Tipping points and a gender perspective on climate changePrecursors and agreements – in pursuit of sustainabilityMeasurement, instruments, methods and indicators of sustainabilitySustainable economy from a gender perspectiveGlobal North and Global South, development or violence, resistance, social movementsUncertainty and caution, crises, safe minimum standards Alternatives: democracy and degrowth, bioregional economy, sustainable cities, circular economy

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Students who are enrolled in the Gender Studies extension programme or whose curriculum includes the respective course as a mandatory subject will be given preferential admission.ATTENTION: For a preferential admission, it is imperative that you register for the course using the study programme Gender Studies Extension or the respective degree programme for which the course is mandatory. Otherwise, preferential admission cannot be considered.

Textbooks:Buckingham, S. and Le Masson, V. (eds.) 2017. Understanding Climate Change Through Gender Relations, Routledge; Spash, C. l. (ed) 2017. Routledge Handbook of Ecological Economics: Nature and Society;D’Alisa, G., Demaria, F. and Kallis, G. (eds) 2015. Degrowth: A Vocabulary for a New Era, Routledge.Complementary literature:Albert, M. and Hahnel R. 1991. The Political Economy of Participatory Economics.C40, 2019. Gender Inclusive Climate Action in Cities.Chertkovskaya, E., Paulsson, A. and Barca, S. 2019. Towards a Political Economy of Degrowth.Costanza, R. et al. (eds) 2015. An Introduction to Ecological Economics, 2nd Ed., CRC Press.Dupuy, J-P, 2009. The Precautionary Principle and Enlightened Doomsaying: Rational choice before the apocalypse. Occasion: Interdisciplinary Studies in the Humanities 1 (1).Easterly, W. 2007. The White Man's Burden: Why the West's Efforts to Aid the Rest Have Done So Much Ill and So Little Good, Penguin Books.Esty, D.C. and Cort, T. 2020. Values at Work: Sustainable Investing and ESG Reporting.Harcourt, W. 2019. Feminist political ecology practices of worlding: art, communing and the politics of hope in the classroom. International Journal of the Commons 13(1): 153–174.Haug, F. (2009). The “Four-in-One Perspective”: A Manifesto for a More Just Life, Socialism and Democracy 23(1): 119-123. Hickel, J. 2020. Less is More: How Degrowth Will Save the World.IPCC, 2022. Climate Change 2022: Impacts, Adaptation and Vulnerability. Contribution of Working Group II to the Sixth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.Klein, N. 2015. This Changes Everything: Capitalism vs. The Climate.Lacy, P., Long, J. and Spindler, W. 2020. The Circular Economy Handbook: Realizing the Circular Advantage.Łapniewska Z, 2016. Well-being in the context of gender equality [In:] M. Warat, E. Krzaklewska, A. Ratecka and K. Slany (red.), Gender Equality and Quality of Life. Perspectives from Poland and Norway, Peter Lang, pp.  61-101.Łapniewska, Z. 2024. Environmental sustainability from the perspective of political economy: Challenges and hope. [In:] A. Kuźniarska, K. Mania and M. Jedynak (eds.) Organizing Sustainable Development, Taylor & Francis, pp. 63-76.Meadows, D.H. et al (eds) 1974. The Limits to Growth: A Report for the Club of Rome's Project on the Predicament of Mankind.Murphy-Greene C. (ed) 2022. Environmental Justice and Resiliency in an Age of Uncertainty.Park, J. et al. (eds) 2008. The Crisis of Global Environmental Governance: Towards a new political economy of sustainability.Raworth, K. 2017. Doughnut Economics: Seven Ways to Think Like a 21st-Century Economist.Ripple et al. 2019. Corrigendum: World Scientists’ Warning of a Climate Emergency, BioScience 70(1): 8-12Shmelev, S. (ed) 2017. Green Economy Reader: Lectures in Ecological Economics and Sustainability.Spiegel-Feld, D., Wyman K.M. and Coughlin J.J. (eds) 2023. Global Sustainable Cities: City Governments and Our Environmental Future.United Nations, 2015. “The 17 Goals”. Waring, M. 2009. Policy and the Measure of Woman: Revisiting UNSNA, ISEW, HDI, and GPI [In:] A. Salleh (ed) Eco-Sufficiency & Global Justice: Women Write Political Ecology, Pluto Press, pp. 165-179.Link auf weitere Informationenhttps://moodle.aau.at/course/view.php?id=42771#section-6

Credit on the basis of active participation inclasses (for each class it will be required to read a short text fordiscussion) and written work - group work (up to 3 persons) done at home (amini-report on a selected local topic related to the course).

The final paper (group work) should include: 4 - 6 pages (1 page -literature review/ problem statement + 3 pages of quantitative data analysis +1 page of notes from the interview, summary), standard font, full bibliography required). All papers will be checked with anti-plagiarism software and GPTZero

Activity in class will account for 30% of the final grade. Class activity will be assessed on the basis of oral contributions (on short texts that are compulsory readings for the class or a topic discussed in class).The remaining 70% will be the assessment of the group report.This written work will be assessed in terms of: close connection to the chosen topic, critical analysis and argumentation skills, reference to the literature on the subject (scientific sources), language and construction of the report (inclusion of all required elements). The report may include an appendix.