Module Directory

This team-taught capstone module explores a number of real-world challenges currently confronting the globe from an interdisciplinary perspective.

Through guest lectures from experts in different disciplines, students will be presented with a range of global challenges. In the discussion seminars and in their assessments, students will analyse historical causes and consider strategies to tackle particular challenges.

The aims of this module are:

• To provide students with a grounding in the challenges facing the globe today.


• To explore issues related to global challenges and be able to relate those issues to the relevant political and social contexts.


• To stimulate students to develop skills in written communication through the capstone project and through oral communication and debate in seminars.


• To encourage students to think and write in both multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary ways.

By the end of this module, students will be expected to be able to:

1. Demonstrate a substantial knowledge and understanding of the material considered on the module, specifically the challenges facing the globe.


2. Draw connections and critically evaluate a diverse range of written forms produced in different geopolitical contexts.


3. Apply interdisciplinary research methods to identify, select, and retrieve a wide range of relevant source material to address complex socio-environmental challenges.


4. Write in an informed, critical and argumentative manner on the material covered by the module.


5. Deal with complex issues both systematically and creatively, make sound judgements in the absence of complete data, or conflicting evidence, and communicate their conclusions clearly.


6. Compare and evaluate different arguments and assess the limitations of their own position or procedure, thinking critically and constructively.


7. Present a succinct and precise account of positions, arguments, and their presuppositions and implications.


8. Be sensitive to the positions of others and communicate their own views in ways that are accessible to them.


9. Demonstrate a comprehensive knowledge and understanding of a selected research area.

Access to water is one of the most urgent global challenges facing us today. Vital for health and well-being, as well as integral to indigenous cultures and industrial processes, water is a threatened commons and contested commodity. In this module, we will explore global and local case studies that highlight challenges of scarcity, contamination, privatization, and climate change, and the cultural importance of bodies of water for diverse communities. We will examine water-related problems, such as economic and urban development, grassroots activism, political conflict, community relations, heritage and well-being. The module will engage with local rivers, such as the River Colne which borders the campus of the University of Essex.

The module is taught by academics from across the University, whose contributions encompass a wide range of fields including policy-making, politics, law, social sciences, the arts and sciences. It will also involve meetings with stakeholders and organizations in the wider community.

This methodology is designed to encourage you to develop a holistic and informed approach to research, project development, teamwork and inspirational leadership that will prepare you for the world beyond your degree.

This module will be delivered via:

• One 2-hour combined lecture and seminar per week.

There will also be a Reading Week when no teaching will take place, exact week to be confirmed.