This page suggests ways to include climate change perspectives in your degree.
ENVI 312 Interdisciplinary Aspects of Climate Change is the flagship paper for He Kaupapa Hononga. However, across the university, there are many papers which probe climate change and climate change related issues.
Background to the paper ENVI 312 Interdisciplinary aspects of Climate Change
Paper information may change, please check the paper information for official details.
Overview
Climate change is likely to impact upon every sector of society. It will alter environments and economies, undermine the health and well-being of people and communities, and influence patterns of mobility and settlement. The impacts will be felt nationally and globally, albeit different peoples and cultures will be disproportionately affected. The mitigation of and adaptation to climate change necessitates a re-conceptualisation of ethics, the functions and focus of science and technology, and existing legal and economic paradigms. Thus, the phenomenon of climate change creates ramifications for every academic discipline.
Described by Richard Lazarus as a “wicked problem” (primarily because of its polycentric nature), climate change is difficult to silo into segments within individual disciplines. Rather, it necessitates a truly interdisciplinary approach to teaching and learning. Therefore, in the delivery of this paper, the School of Geography is working across three divisions to provide students with the opportunity to study the climate change phenomenon holistically.
Regardless of their chosen discipline and proposed career path, all students at Otago are entitled to access a structured and formal learning programme that will help them to understand the major conceptual paradigms, frameworks and theories that relate to climate change. This is turn will enable students to weave climate change considerations into their chosen academic discipline, to facilitate critical thinking within that discipline, and to ensure that students are properly prepared for life after graduation.
Paper prescription
Inter-disciplinary Aspects of Climate Change (ENVI 312) is a 300-level optional paper for the Environment and Society (ENVI) minor but it can be taken by any student as an optional paper towards their degree (subject to departmental approval). It provides an introduction to the scientific basis for, impacts of, and law and policy responses to climate change. The paper tends to be taught in second semester.
Paper information for ENVI 312
Contributors to ENVI 312
Contributors are subject to change, please check the subject paper information for current information:
Paper information for ENVI 312
Other climate change subject papers
Below are both papers dedicated to climate change, and papers including a disciplinary perspective on climate change as a part of the course.
This list is intended to aid students to find further avenues to include climate change perspectives into their degree, whether it be finance, business, anthropology, etc. Please note that each paper will have its own pre-requisites and degree limitations, which can be found on its paper-specific page.
If you know of any further papers that offer climate change perspectives please contact us.
Email hekaupapa.hononga@otago.ac.nz
Subject papers dedicated to climate change
Environment and Society
Geography
- GEOG 282 / GEOG 388 Climate Change: Present and Future
- GEOG 283 / GEOG 389 Climate Change: The Past
- GEOG 461 Mountain Hydrology
Geology
- GEOL 473 Advanced Topics in Paleoceanography and Paleoclimatology
Marine Science
- MARI 431 Antarctic and Southern Ocean Science
Physics
- PHSI 243 Environmental Physics
Public Health
- PUBH 733 Environment and Health
Papers that include a disciplinary perspective on climate change
Accounting
- ACCT 325 Corporate Sustainability Accounting and Reporting
Agricultural Innovation
- AGRI 101 Agricultural Innovation
- AGRI 221 New Zealand Agricultural Systems
- AGRI 321 Agricultural Production and Food Security
- AGRI 322 Innovation and Healthy soils
Aquaculture and Fisheries
Biology
- BIOL 123 Plants: How They Shape the World
Botany
- BTNY 201 Plant Functional Biology and Biotechnology
- BTNY 203 Marine and Freshwater Botany
- BTNY 301 Plant Ecology
- BTNY 303 Topics in Field Botany
- BTNY 465 Plant and Environment
- BTNY 469 Principles of Nature Conservation
Chemistry
Earth and Ocean Science
- EAOS 111 Earth and Ocean Science
Ecology
- ECOL 111 Ecology and Conservation of Diversity
Energy Management
Environment and Society
Finance
Geography
- GEOG 101 Physical Geography
- GEOG 102 Geographies of Sustainable Futures
- GEOG 212 / GEOG 382 Transformations in Developing Countries
- GEOG 215 / GEOG 384 Envisioning Sustainable Cities
- GEOG 216 Environmental Management: Principles and Values
- GEOG 228 / GEOG 328 Geographies of Global Development and Sustainability
- GEOG 276 / GEOG 376 Geographies of Contestation, Action and Change
- GEOG 281 / GEOG 387 Topics in Physical Geography
- GEOG 286 / GEOG 392 Climatology
- GEOG 287 / GEOG 393 Plants, People and the Environment
- GEOG 298 / GEOG 398Coastal Geomorphology
- GEOG 397 Environmental Management: Policy and Practice
- GEOG 401 Theories of Development
- GEOG 402 Development Planning and Practice
- GEOG 460 Climatology
- GEOG 463 Geographies of Justice
- GEOG 471 Impact Assessment and Sustainability
- GEOG 472 Developments in Environmental Management
Geology
- GEOL 112 Dynamic Earth: A New Zealand Perspective
- GEOL 262 / GEOL 362 Geochemistry
- GEOL 263 / GEOL 363 Paleoenvironments and Basin Evolution
- GEOL 265 / GEOL 365 Natural Hazards of NZ and Beyond
- GEOL 272 / GEOL 372 Evolution of New Zealand Biota
- GEOL 273 / GEOL 373 Modern and Ancient Sedimentary Systems
- GEOL 353 Earth Evolution and Plate Tectonics
- GEOL 461 Advanced Topics in Geophysics 1
- GEOL 462 Advanced Topics in Geochemistry
- GEOL 463 Advanced Topics in Paleobiology and Evolution
- GEOL 472 Advanced Topics in Environmental Geochemistry
Global Studies
- GLBL 201 Cultures of the Environment
Human Nutrition
- HUNT 141 Understanding Human Nutrition
Management
- MANT 337 Organisations and Sustainability
- MANT 437 Organisations and Sustainability
- MANT 447 Contemporary Issues in Sustainable Business
Marine Science / Oceanography
- MARI 112 Marine Biology: The Living Ocean
- MARI 201 Oceanography: The Physical Ocean
- MARI 202 Ecology and Biology of Marine Invertebrates
- MARI 301 Marine Ecology and Ecosystems
- MARI 302 Biology and Behaviour of Marine Vertebrates
- MARI 322 Coastal and Shelf Seas Oceanography
- MARI 403 Critical Thinking for Environmental Scientists
- MARI 429 Coastal Marine Environment
Materials Science and Technology
- MATS 204 Treasure of Trash: Sustainability of Material
Mathematics
- MATH 120 Mathematics for Scientists
Pacific Islands Studies
- PACI 101 Pacific Societies
- PACI 201 Contemporary Pacific Island Issues
- PACI 310 Special Topic: Pacific People, Climate Change and Power
- PACI 401 Tinā Pacifika – Women in Polynesian Communities
- PACI 402 Resource Conservation and Environment in the Pacific
Philosophy
- PHIL 235 Environmental Philosophy
Physics
- PHSI 132 Fundamentals of Physics II
- PHSI 422 Upper Atmospheric and Space Physics
- PHSI 426 Fluids, Instability and Transport Phenomena
Plant Biotechnology
- PLBI 301 Applied Plant Science
Politics
- POLS 224 Current issues in Environmental Politics
- POLS 323 Marxism: Classical and Contemporary
- POLS 324 Current Issues in Environmental Politics (Advanced)
- POLS 413 / POLS 513 Politics for the environment
Public Health
- PUBH 303 Public and Global Health: Current Issues
Religious Studies
- RELS 241 Religion, Conflict and Conspiracy Theory
Social Anthropology
- ANTH 206 Anthropology of Globalisation
Sport, Physical Education and Exercise
- SPEX 314 Advanced Sport Management
- SPEX 440 Advanced Topics in Physical Education, Activity and Health
- SPEX 450 Advanced Topics in Exercise and Sport Science
- SPEX 460 Advanced Topics in Sport Development and Management
Tourism
Zoology
- ZOOL 313 Animal Function and Environment
- ZOOL 416 Freshwater Ecology
- ZOOL 418 Conservation Biology of Marine Mammals
Degree programmes including climate change
Postgraduate opportunities
He Kaupapa Hononga encourages and supports postgraduate research into climate change.
- Postgraduate Research opportunities database
Provides information about research vacancies for postgraduates - Otago Climate Change Postgraduate Network information
Provides a means to connect with other postgraduates - Visit our news page
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