Students

GEOP3000 – Environmental Justice in the Anthropocene

2021 – Session 1, Fully online/virtual

Notice

As part of Phase 3 of our return to campus plan, most units will now run tutorials, seminars and other small group activities on campus, and most will keep an online version available to those students unable to return or those who choose to continue their studies online.

To check the availability of face-to-face and online activities for your unit, please go to timetable viewer. To check detailed information on unit assessments visit your unit's iLearn space or consult your unit convenor.

General Information

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Unit convenor and teaching staff Unit convenor and teaching staff Convenor
Andrew McGregor
Contact via email
Lecturer
Jessica McLean
Contact via email
Credit points Credit points
10
Prerequisites Prerequisites
130cp
Corequisites Corequisites
Co-badged status Co-badged status
Unit description Unit description

The Anthropocene is a proposed new geological epoch in which humanity is driving planetary change. This unit explores how environmental decision making and planning processes can be made more just in the context of the Anthropocene. It draws on perspectives from environmental justice, a field of research and activism focused on addressing the social and geographic inequities associated with environmental change. Environmental justice highlights how responsibility for, and the burdens of, environmental degradation are unevenly distributed across space and scale, and divided between and within social categories such as race, class, gender, ethnicity and species. Environmental justice and decision-making are analysed through a series of case studies that are presented by academic staff and environmental professionals. An important component of the unit focuses on developing analytical and practical skills for pursuing environmental justice, which requires the ability to synthesise geographic information from the social and physical sciences and engage with multiple stakeholders, decision making tools, and forms of communication. The unit makes the relationships between justice and environment more visible in a world of rapid environmental change and provides pathways and tools for pursuing more just and resilient futures.

Important Academic Dates

Information about important academic dates including deadlines for withdrawing from units are available at https://www.mq.edu.au/study/calendar-of-dates

Learning Outcomes

On successful completion of this unit, you will be able to:

  • ULO1: Assess environmental decisions or plans using environmental justice concepts or frameworks
  • ULO2: Synthesise geographic information from the social and physical sciences to identify environmental justice issues
  • ULO3: Describe and explain common environmental injustices associated with contemporary forms of socioecological change
  • ULO4: Investigate and appreciate diverse stakeholder perspectives using environmental justice tools and concepts to improve environmental decision-making
  • ULO5: Argue for improved environmental justice outcomes in a variety of written and spoken forms

General Assessment Information

Unless a Special Consideration request has been submitted and approved, (a) a penalty for lateness will apply – two (2) marks out of 100 will be deducted per day for assignments submitted after the due date – and (b) no assignment will be accepted more than seven (7) days (incl. weekends) after the original submission deadline. No late submissions will be accepted for timed assessments – e.g. quizzes, online tests. The criteria and standards for each assignment will be made available via iLearn.

Assessment Tasks

Name Weighting Hurdle Due
Environmental Justice Assessment Report 40% No 4 June 2021
Team based learning task 20% No Weeks 4, 6, 11
Environmental Justice Essay 20% No 30 April 2021
Tutorial participation task 20% No All semester

Environmental Justice Assessment Report

Assessment Type 1: Report
Indicative Time on Task 2: 50 hours
Due: 4 June 2021
Weighting: 40%

 

Students are required to write a report that assesses a recent or upcoming environmental decision or plan from the perspective of environmental justice. The report is to be written as a brief for an environmental justice organisation (2500 words).

 


On successful completion you will be able to:
  • Assess environmental decisions or plans using environmental justice concepts or frameworks
  • Investigate and appreciate diverse stakeholder perspectives using environmental justice tools and concepts to improve environmental decision-making
  • Argue for improved environmental justice outcomes in a variety of written and spoken forms

Team based learning task

Assessment Type 1: Quiz/Test
Indicative Time on Task 2: 12 hours
Due: Weeks 4, 6, 11
Weighting: 20%

 

Three team based learning multiple choice quizzes will take place to test student learning and build communication skills.

 


On successful completion you will be able to:
  • Assess environmental decisions or plans using environmental justice concepts or frameworks
  • Synthesise geographic information from the social and physical sciences to identify environmental justice issues
  • Investigate and appreciate diverse stakeholder perspectives using environmental justice tools and concepts to improve environmental decision-making
  • Argue for improved environmental justice outcomes in a variety of written and spoken forms

Environmental Justice Essay

Assessment Type 1: Essay
Indicative Time on Task 2: 25 hours
Due: 30 April 2021
Weighting: 20%

 

This short essay asks students to explore an environmental justice concept and apply it to a case study (1000 words).

 


On successful completion you will be able to:
  • Synthesise geographic information from the social and physical sciences to identify environmental justice issues
  • Describe and explain common environmental injustices associated with contemporary forms of socioecological change
  • Investigate and appreciate diverse stakeholder perspectives using environmental justice tools and concepts to improve environmental decision-making
  • Argue for improved environmental justice outcomes in a variety of written and spoken forms

Tutorial participation task

Assessment Type 1: Participatory task
Indicative Time on Task 2: 0 hours
Due: All semester
Weighting: 20%

 

Small tasks completed in tutorials related to unit content. Many of these activities will be scaffolding for the other assignments.

 


On successful completion you will be able to:
  • Assess environmental decisions or plans using environmental justice concepts or frameworks
  • Synthesise geographic information from the social and physical sciences to identify environmental justice issues
  • Describe and explain common environmental injustices associated with contemporary forms of socioecological change
  • Investigate and appreciate diverse stakeholder perspectives using environmental justice tools and concepts to improve environmental decision-making
  • Argue for improved environmental justice outcomes in a variety of written and spoken forms

1 If you need help with your assignment, please contact:

  • the academic teaching staff in your unit for guidance in understanding or completing this type of assessment
  • the Writing Centre for academic skills support.

2 Indicative time-on-task is an estimate of the time required for completion of the assessment task and is subject to individual variation

Delivery and Resources

Each week you are expected to:

1. View the recorded lectures and any associated online material posted that week.  

2. Complete assigned readings available on Leganto prior to the tutorials

3. Participate in tutorials where weekly readings will be discussed and activities conducted that build knowledge and skills.

In addition you are required to complete all assessment exercises.

GEOP3000 uses a wide variety of online resources, including an iLearn page where slides and audio from lectures will be posted, the Macquarie University Library for access to peer reviewed journal articles accessed via Leganto, and the web generally for news about, and discussions of, environmental justice and decision making. You will be required to have access to word processing technology and access to iLearn to complete and submit assignments.

Unit Schedule

Week

Lecture

Tutorial 

Assessment

Introducing environmental justice

1 (AM)

Environmental justice and decision making in the Anthropocene

No tutorials

 

2 (AM)

Environmental Justice: theory, concepts and activism

Justice in the Anthropocene

 

3 (JM)

Intersectional environments

Experiencing intersectionality

 

4 (AM)

Environmental justice case study

Team based learning activity Team based learning assessment
Environmental justice and decision making tools and approaches

5 (AM)

Environmental decision making tools and approaches

Systems mapping

 

6 (AM)

Environmental justice tools and approaches

Team based learning activity

Team based learning assessment

Mid semester break

Environmental justice in Australia

7 (JM)

Environmental justice in Australia – planning and law 

Analysing plans and decisions

 

8 (JM)

Indigenous peoples and environmental decision-making 

Indigenous resistance to environmental injustice

Environmental justice essay due

Environmental justice case studies and future pathways
9 (AM)

Multispecies justice 

Multispecies justice  
10 (AM)

Forest justice

Regional Forest Agreements  

11 (AM)

Climate justice 

Team based learning activity

Team based learning assessment

12 (AM)

Food justice

Food justice

 

13 (AM)

Just futures for the Anthropocene

Hopeful futures

Environmental justice assessment report due

Policies and Procedures

Macquarie University policies and procedures are accessible from Policy Central (https://policies.mq.edu.au). Students should be aware of the following policies in particular with regard to Learning and Teaching:

Students seeking more policy resources can visit Student Policies (https://students.mq.edu.au/support/study/policies). It is your one-stop-shop for the key policies you need to know about throughout your undergraduate student journey.

To find other policies relating to Teaching and Learning, visit Policy Central (https://policies.mq.edu.au) and use the search tool.

Student Code of Conduct

Macquarie University students have a responsibility to be familiar with the Student Code of Conduct: https://students.mq.edu.au/admin/other-resources/student-conduct

Results

Results published on platform other than eStudent, (eg. iLearn, Coursera etc.) or released directly by your Unit Convenor, are not confirmed as they are subject to final approval by the University. Once approved, final results will be sent to your student email address and will be made available in eStudent. For more information visit ask.mq.edu.au or if you are a Global MBA student contact globalmba.support@mq.edu.au

Student Support

Macquarie University provides a range of support services for students. For details, visit http://students.mq.edu.au/support/

Learning Skills

Learning Skills (mq.edu.au/learningskills) provides academic writing resources and study strategies to help you improve your marks and take control of your study.

The Library provides online and face to face support to help you find and use relevant information resources. 

Student Services and Support

Students with a disability are encouraged to contact the Disability Service who can provide appropriate help with any issues that arise during their studies.

Student Enquiries

For all student enquiries, visit Student Connect at ask.mq.edu.au

If you are a Global MBA student contact globalmba.support@mq.edu.au

IT Help

For help with University computer systems and technology, visit http://www.mq.edu.au/about_us/offices_and_units/information_technology/help/

When using the University's IT, you must adhere to the Acceptable Use of IT Resources Policy. The policy applies to all who connect to the MQ network including students.

Changes since First Published

Date Description
17/02/2021 The TBL exercise and associated teaching activities have been moved from Week 3 to Week 4.

Unit information based on version 2021.03 of the Handbook