Sustainability science II
Deepen your understanding of sustainability science, together with leading scholars and practitioners. This course builds on Sustainability Science I. We explore how concepts of resilience and biosphere stewardship can be used to analyse and navigate the challenges and opportunities of sustainability, with a particular focus on business in the second module.
In this new course you will learn from sustainability scientists who are elaborating different aspects and frontiers in sustainability science, including if and how businesses can engage in resilience thinking and biosphere stewardship. You will also meet guest speakers who are working at the interface of sustainability science and business practice.
You will learn about systems thinking, resilience strategies and biosphere stewardship, the history of these concepts and how they have influenced business practice.
You will explore cases that illuminate key aspects of resilience and stewardship and illustrate different theories of how to shift corporate actions towards more sustainable practices.
You will advance your understanding of key debates in sustainability and business and further develop your capacity to engage with them and make well-informed arguments.
The course is offered as a part of the Bachelor Program “Business, Ethics and Sustainability”.
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Course structure
Modules
The course consists of two parts:
- Resilience strategies: theory and practice, 10 credits
- Corporations and sustainable development in the Anthropocene II, 5 credits
Teaching format
We mix different teaching formats to make the most of your learning experience – including lectures, seminars, exercises and group work.
This is an on campus, full time course and your participation in the learning activities is crucial for reaching the learning goals. Lectures are typically scheduled in the mornings of Tuesdays and Thursdays. Seminars take place in the afternoons of Tuesdays and Thursdays, and Friday mornings or afternoons. Mondays and Wednesdays are set aside for self-studies and group work, to the extent possible.
Assessment
We assess knowledge based on written exam, written and oral presentation and opposition.
Examiner
Lisen Schultz
E-mail: lisen.schultz@su.se
Lisen Schultz is a sustainability scientist at the Stockholm Resilience Centre (SRC), and program director for the SRC’s Executive program in resilience thinking, which connects CEOs of influential companies to the frontiers of sustainability science. Lisen has a PhD in natural resource management from Stockholm university.
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Schedule
The schedule will be available no later than one month before the start of the course. We do not recommend print-outs as changes can occur. At the start of the course, your department will advise where you can find your schedule during the course. -
Course literature
Note that the course literature can be changed up to two months before the start of the course.
Biggs, R., Schlüter, M. & Schoon, M. L. (Eds.) Principles for building resilience: Sustaining ecosystem services in social-ecological systems. Cambridge University Press 2015. The e-book version is available with open access at cambridge.org via the Stockholm university library.
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Course reports
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More information
Core teaching team
Associate professor Thorsten Blenckner is a biologist and limnologist at the SRC who aims to contribute to a sustainable world by advancing and integrating quantitative analyses, particularly focusing on marine systems. His research has focused on resilience, tipping point analyses and ocean health, providing insights that inform management of e.g. The Baltic Sea.
PhD Susa Niiranen is a researcher at the SRC who studies marine food web dynamics and how they respond to changes in multiple environmental and anthropogenic stressors, often using modelling approaches. Niiranen holds an MSc in hydrobiology from the University of Helsinki and a PhD in marine ecology from Stockholm University.
PhD Malin Jonell is a researcher at the SRC and the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences. Her research focuses sustainable (blue) food production and consumption. She looks specifically at the potential role of markets, trade and the private sector in driving positive change in local and global food systems. Jonell holds a MSc in Marine Ecotoxicology and received her PhD in Systems Ecology, focusing on eco-certification of aquaculture, from Stockholm University.
PhD Peter Søgaard Jørgensen is a researcher at the SRC and deputy director of the Global Economic Dynamics and the Biosphere programme at the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences Sciences. His research focuses on the broader interacting evolutionary dynamics of the biosphere and cultural and technological evolutionary dynamics of human society. Particular lenses of this research are transformations in global health, the global food system and other production systems, and global economic dynamics (e.g. consumption as it relates to planetary boundaries).
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Contact
Student office- Visiting address
Arrheniuslaboratory, room E315
Svante Arrhenius väg 20C
- Office hours
Mon-Thur: 13.00-15.00
- Irregular office hours
Closed Thursday November 21!
Study counsellor for basic level
- Visiting address
Arrheniuslaboratory, room E315d
Svante Arrhenius väg 20 C
- Office hours
By request
