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233041 SE Politics and socio-technical change in environmental governance (2022S)
Continuous assessment of course work
Labels
Registration/Deregistration
Note: The time of your registration within the registration period has no effect on the allocation of places (no first come, first served).
- Registration is open from Tu 01.02.2022 09:00 to Su 20.02.2022 23:59
- Deregistration possible until Su 20.03.2022 23:59
Details
max. 25 participants
Language: English
Lecturers
Classes (iCal) - next class is marked with N
- Tuesday 08.03. 12:00 - 14:00 Seminarraum STS, NIG Universitätsstraße 7/Stg. II/6. Stock, 1010 Wien
- Tuesday 15.03. 12:00 - 14:00 Seminarraum STS, NIG Universitätsstraße 7/Stg. II/6. Stock, 1010 Wien
- Tuesday 22.03. 12:00 - 14:00 Seminarraum STS, NIG Universitätsstraße 7/Stg. II/6. Stock, 1010 Wien
- Tuesday 29.03. 12:00 - 14:00 Seminarraum STS, NIG Universitätsstraße 7/Stg. II/6. Stock, 1010 Wien
- Tuesday 05.04. 12:00 - 14:00 Seminarraum STS, NIG Universitätsstraße 7/Stg. II/6. Stock, 1010 Wien
- Tuesday 26.04. 12:00 - 14:00 Seminarraum STS, NIG Universitätsstraße 7/Stg. II/6. Stock, 1010 Wien
- Tuesday 03.05. 12:00 - 14:00 Seminarraum STS, NIG Universitätsstraße 7/Stg. II/6. Stock, 1010 Wien
- Tuesday 10.05. 12:00 - 14:00 Seminarraum STS, NIG Universitätsstraße 7/Stg. II/6. Stock, 1010 Wien
- Tuesday 17.05. 12:00 - 14:00 Seminarraum STS, NIG Universitätsstraße 7/Stg. II/6. Stock, 1010 Wien
- Tuesday 24.05. 12:00 - 14:00 Seminarraum STS, NIG Universitätsstraße 7/Stg. II/6. Stock, 1010 Wien
- Tuesday 31.05. 12:00 - 14:00 Seminarraum STS, NIG Universitätsstraße 7/Stg. II/6. Stock, 1010 Wien
Information
Aims, contents and method of the course
We live in a world full of uncertainties, with its moments of inertia or radical or incremental changes. What are the conceptual tools that help us think about transitions, whether they are political, environmental, economic or technical, and how to govern them? As governing becomes a complex form of social experimentation, some technical projects cease to be considered the exclusive domain of engineers or natural scientists and are acknowledged by the actors involved as socio-technical projects, which need to be legitimized and recognized as acceptable by many actors (experts, decision-makers, civil society, citizens). What roles can science and technology studies (STS) play to highlight the eminently political character of these socio-technical changes? The central theme of this course concerns the medium- and long-term aspects of transition(s) in environmental governance, and the related political issues. The course focuses on current issues in a particularly uncertain context that are, for example, out of the ordinary or controversial. Each session will start from one or more concrete topics, such as the governance of sanitary crises, nuclear energy, biotechnologies, or decaying infrastructures. Students will be invited to analyse and criticize the socio-technical changes operated over time by policy makers, experts, and civil society. These topics will be analysed in light of coherent sets of STS contributions, asking the same questions each week: What would these authors think about this particular case? What would they invite us to pay attention to? What issues do they address?
Assessment and permitted materials
To pass the seminar, students are expected to complete the following tasks:
- actively participate in classes (skills assessed: ability to provide constructive written feedback on other students’ work and to orally develop ideas, intervene appropriately, and ask questions)
- provide every week an assignment (called ‘response paper’ - approximately 500 words) and send it two days before the course (skills assessed: ability to relate to authors seen in class to support a point or argument + ability to refer to the exact terminology used by the authors). The first response paper is expected by March 15, 2022 (the first class will be an introduction to the course with no preparation required).
- provide a final essay, i.e. a compilation of the response papers improved on which improvements can continually be made, augmented by an introduction, a conclusion, a table of contents and a bibliography (of the authors actually used in the writing).This course uses the plagiarism-detection service 'Turnitin' for the final essay.
- actively participate in classes (skills assessed: ability to provide constructive written feedback on other students’ work and to orally develop ideas, intervene appropriately, and ask questions)
- provide every week an assignment (called ‘response paper’ - approximately 500 words) and send it two days before the course (skills assessed: ability to relate to authors seen in class to support a point or argument + ability to refer to the exact terminology used by the authors). The first response paper is expected by March 15, 2022 (the first class will be an introduction to the course with no preparation required).
- provide a final essay, i.e. a compilation of the response papers improved on which improvements can continually be made, augmented by an introduction, a conclusion, a table of contents and a bibliography (of the authors actually used in the writing).This course uses the plagiarism-detection service 'Turnitin' for the final essay.
Minimum requirements and assessment criteria
Grading Scheme
The grading scheme is based on a total of 100 points. These points will be awarded in relation to students’ performance in meeting the course learning aims in the different obligatory tasks.100-89 points Excellent (1)
88-76 points Good (2)
77-63 points Satisfactory (3)
62-50 points Sufficient (4)
49-0 points Unsatisfactory (5) (fail)Minimum requirements
To successfully complete the course, a weighted average of at least 4,5 is required. Failure to meet the attendance regulations, to deliver course assignments on time or to adhere to standards of academic work may also be considered in the course assessment.Attendance
Presence and participation is compulsory. Absences of four hours at maximum are tolerated, provided that the lecturer is informed about the absence. Absences of up to eight hours in total may be compensated by either a deduction of grading points or/and extra work agreed with the lecturer. Whether compensation is possible is decided by the lecturer.
Absences of more than eight hours in total cannot be compensated. In this case, or if the lecturer does not allow a student to compensate absences of more than four hours, the course cannot be completed and is graded as a ‘fail’ (5), unless there is a major and unpredictable reason for not being able to fulfil the attendance requirements on the student’s side (e.g. a longer illness). In such a case, the student may be de-registered from the course without grading. It is the student’s responsibility to communicate this in a timely manner, and to provide relevant evidence to their claims if necessary. Whether this exception applies is decided by the lecturer.Important Grading Information
If not explicitly noted otherwise, all requirements mentioned in the grading scheme and the attendance regulations must be met. If a required task is not fulfilled, e.g. a required assignment is not handed in or if the student does not meet the attendance requirements, this will be considered as a discontinuation of the course. In that case, the course will be graded as ‘fail’ (5), unless there is a major and unpredictable reason for not being able to fulfill the task on the student's side (e.g. a longer illness). In such a case, the student may be de-registered from the course without grading. It is the student’s responsibility to communicate this in a timely manner, and to provide relevant evidence to their claims if necessary. Whether this exception applies is decided by the lecturer.
If any requirement of the course has been fulfilled by fraudulent means, be it for example by cheating at an exam, plagiarizing parts of a written assignment or by faking signatures on an attendance sheet, the student's participation in the course will be discontinued, the entire course will be graded as ‘not assessed’ and will be entered into the electronic exam record as ‘fraudulently obtained’. Self-plagiarism, particularly re-using own work handed in for other courses, will be treated likewise.
The grading scheme is based on a total of 100 points. These points will be awarded in relation to students’ performance in meeting the course learning aims in the different obligatory tasks.100-89 points Excellent (1)
88-76 points Good (2)
77-63 points Satisfactory (3)
62-50 points Sufficient (4)
49-0 points Unsatisfactory (5) (fail)Minimum requirements
To successfully complete the course, a weighted average of at least 4,5 is required. Failure to meet the attendance regulations, to deliver course assignments on time or to adhere to standards of academic work may also be considered in the course assessment.Attendance
Presence and participation is compulsory. Absences of four hours at maximum are tolerated, provided that the lecturer is informed about the absence. Absences of up to eight hours in total may be compensated by either a deduction of grading points or/and extra work agreed with the lecturer. Whether compensation is possible is decided by the lecturer.
Absences of more than eight hours in total cannot be compensated. In this case, or if the lecturer does not allow a student to compensate absences of more than four hours, the course cannot be completed and is graded as a ‘fail’ (5), unless there is a major and unpredictable reason for not being able to fulfil the attendance requirements on the student’s side (e.g. a longer illness). In such a case, the student may be de-registered from the course without grading. It is the student’s responsibility to communicate this in a timely manner, and to provide relevant evidence to their claims if necessary. Whether this exception applies is decided by the lecturer.Important Grading Information
If not explicitly noted otherwise, all requirements mentioned in the grading scheme and the attendance regulations must be met. If a required task is not fulfilled, e.g. a required assignment is not handed in or if the student does not meet the attendance requirements, this will be considered as a discontinuation of the course. In that case, the course will be graded as ‘fail’ (5), unless there is a major and unpredictable reason for not being able to fulfill the task on the student's side (e.g. a longer illness). In such a case, the student may be de-registered from the course without grading. It is the student’s responsibility to communicate this in a timely manner, and to provide relevant evidence to their claims if necessary. Whether this exception applies is decided by the lecturer.
If any requirement of the course has been fulfilled by fraudulent means, be it for example by cheating at an exam, plagiarizing parts of a written assignment or by faking signatures on an attendance sheet, the student's participation in the course will be discontinued, the entire course will be graded as ‘not assessed’ and will be entered into the electronic exam record as ‘fraudulently obtained’. Self-plagiarism, particularly re-using own work handed in for other courses, will be treated likewise.
Examination topics
Reading list
Association in the course directory
Last modified: Th 17.02.2022 15:10