CS201-5-AU-CO:
The World in Question: The Social, Cultural, Political & Environmental Legacies of the Enlightenment
2026/27
Philosophical, Historical, and Interdisciplinary Studies (School of)
Colchester Campus
Autumn
Undergraduate: Level 5
Current
Thursday 08 October 2026
Friday 18 December 2026
15
17 June 2026
Requisites for this module
(none)
(none)
(none)
(none)
(none)
BA LQV0 Liberal Arts (Including Foundation Year),
BA Q900 Liberal Arts (Including Foundation Year and Year Abroad),
BA QV00 Liberal Arts (Including Year Abroad),
BA V900 Liberal Arts,
BA V901 Liberal Arts (Including Placement Year),
BA L903 Global Studies,
BA L904 Global Studies (including year abroad),
BA L905 Global Studies (Including Placement Year),
BA L908 Global Studies (Including Foundation Year and Year Abroad),
BA LR04 Global Studies and Modern Languages (Including Year Abroad),
BA L910 Global Studies with Politics,
BA L911 Global Studies with Politics (Including year abroad),
BA L912 Global Studies with Politics (Including Placement Year),
BA L913 Global Studies with Politics (Including Foundation Year),
BA L914 Global Studies with Human Rights,
BA L916 Global Studies with Human Rights (Including Foundation Year),
BA L917 Global Studies with Human Rights (Including Placement Year),
BA L918 Global Studies with Human Rights (Including Year Abroad),
BA L933 Global Studies with Business Management,
BA L934 Global Studies with Business Management (Including Foundation Year),
BA L935 Global Studies with Business Management (Including Placement Year),
BA L936 Global Studies with Business Management (Including Year Abroad),
BA R104 Global Studies and Language Studies,
BA R105 Global Studies and Language Studies (Including Foundation Year),
BA C900 Global Studies with Sustainability,
BA C901 Global Studies with Sustainability (Including Foundation Year),
BA C902 Global Studies with Sustainability (including Placement Year),
BA C903 Global Studies with Sustainability (including Year Abroad)
The climate and ecological crisis is the biggest challenge of our times. This interdisciplinary module examines the historical origins and the contemporary causes of the crisis, before moving on to explore sustainable solutions and just transitions.
The module starts by introducing students to the scale of the climate and ecological crisis and the concept of the anthropocene. We then move on to consider the origins of the crisis focusing on the rise of capitalism, colonial exploitation of people and nature, the industrial and fossil fuel revolutions, and the "great acceleration". In the second part of the module, we will examine strategies for achieving a just transition to an environmentally sustainable economy, society and culture. Such strategies include rethinking growth, making the transition in the food and agriculture system, and moving from preservationist conservation to regenerating nature.
The aims of this module are:
- To introduce students to the historical origins and contemporary causes of the climate and ecological crisis.
- To stimulate understanding about sustainable solutions and just transitions.
- To provide students with varied insights into the ecological impacts of colonialism, industrialism and capitalism, and the benefits of re-orientating our relations with nature.
- To encourage students to engage in interdisciplinary thinking and approaches from different academic fields.
By the end of this module, students are expected to be able to:
- Discuss and debate the module topics.
- Summarise and critically engage with set texts.
- Construct arguments drawing on approaches and evidence presented in lectures, readings and classes.
Complimentary learning or prior knowledge
Students are not expected to have any prior knowledge to take this module.
Indicative Syllabus
- Understanding the Anthropocene and the climate and ecological crisis.
- Capitalocene, plantationocene and the colonial exploitation of people and nature.
- Industrialisation, fossil fuels, and the 'great acceleration'.
- Rethinking human-nature relations, learning from indigenous peoples.
- Re-orienting the economy: doughnut economics, degrowth, and circular economies.
- Sustainable and biodegradable materials.
- From industrial to regenerative agriculture and a sustainable food system.
- The Kumming-Montreal Agreement and strategies for regenerating nature on land and sea.
This module will be delivered via:
- A weekly one-hour lecture and an interactive, inclusive, one-hour class per week (taught in a 2-hour block).
- Some weeks there will also be screenings of relevant documentaries and films.
- Most weeks there will be a Moodle reading quiz
Students are expected to attend screenings, undertake the reading and complete the moodle quizzes before classes, and be prepared to engage in discussion.
Assessment items, weightings and deadlines
| Coursework / exam |
Description |
Deadline |
Coursework weighting |
| Exam |
Main exam: In-Person, Open Book (Restricted), 120 minutes during January
|
| Exam |
Reassessment Main exam: In-Person, Open Book (Restricted), 120 minutes during September (Reassessment Period)
|
Exam format definitions
- Remote, open book: Your exam will take place remotely via an online learning platform. You may refer to any physical or electronic materials during the exam.
- In-person, open book: Your exam will take place on campus under invigilation. You may refer to any physical materials such as paper study notes or a textbook during the exam. Electronic devices may not be used in the exam.
- In-person, open book (restricted): The exam will take place on campus under invigilation. You may refer only to specific physical materials such as a named textbook during the exam. Permitted materials will be specified by your department. Electronic devices may not be used in the exam.
- In-person, closed book: The exam will take place on campus under invigilation. You may not refer to any physical materials or electronic devices during the exam. There may be times when a paper dictionary,
for example, may be permitted in an otherwise closed book exam. Any exceptions will be specified by your department.
Your department will provide further guidance before your exams.
Overall assessment
Reassessment
Module supervisor and teaching staff
Yes
Yes
Yes
Prof Raphael Hallett
AdvanceHE
Higher Education Consultant - Senior Advisor
Available via Moodle
No lecture recording information available for this module.
* Please note: due to differing publication schedules, items marked with an asterisk (*) base their information upon the previous academic year.
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