Students

GEOP3000 – Environmental Justice in the Anthropocene

2022 – Session 1, In person-scheduled-weekday, North Ryde

General Information

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Unit convenor and teaching staff Unit convenor and teaching staff Unit convenor
Emily O'Gorman
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Room B452, Level 4, 25B Wally's Walk
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Lecturer
Jessica McLean
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Tutor
Sarah Prebble
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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

SUBMISSION REQUIREMENTS

All written assessments are to be submitted via Turnitin, the university online submission and marking system - found as a link in iLearn. Turnitin includes Grademark, a paperless grading system where your written assessments are marked by staff online. Submissions are also checked for plagiarism by Turnitin. Turnitin automatically compares your work to the work of your classmates, previous students and material available on the internet. Hard copies of assignments are no longer accepted and will not be marked.

For more information on Turnitin and Grademark: http://mq.edu.au/iLearn/student_info/assignments.htm

DEADLINES, EXTENSIONS AND PENALTIES

Deadlines set for assessment submissions will not be altered except in exceptional circumstances. In all cases, extensions must be supported with appropriate documentation (medical certificate, counsellor's certificate, statutory declaration). All extensions must be applied for and granted through the special consideration process. See the Special Consideration Policy https://students.mq.edu.au/study/my-study-program/special-consideration

Extensions will not be granted in cases of poor time management. Only the Unit Convenor can authorise extensions.

Unless a Special Consideration request has been submitted and approved, (a) a penalty for lateness will apply – 10 marks out of 100 credit 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.

Students who fail to complete and submit ALL assessments for the unit may not receive enough marks to pass the unit. Penalties will also be incurred for plagiarism, that is, the use of another persons’ work and presentation as your own (see University Policies and http://www.mq.edu.au/ policy/docs/academic_honesty/policy.html).

GRADING

Each written assessment will be marked, commented upon and returned to you via Turnitin and Grademark. Grading is conducted in line with the Universitiy's grading policy (http://www.mq.edu.au/policy/docs/grading/policy.html)

Assessment Tasks

Name Weighting Hurdle Due
Environmental Justice Assessment Report 30% No 5pm 3 June
Environmental Justice Essay 20% No 5pm 8 April
Team based learning task 30% No Weeks 4, 6, 11
Tutorial participation task 20% No Weeks 2-13

Environmental Justice Assessment Report

Assessment Type 1: Report
Indicative Time on Task 2: 50 hours
Due: 5pm 3 June
Weighting: 30%

 

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 (2000 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

Environmental Justice Essay

Assessment Type 1: Essay
Indicative Time on Task 2: 25 hours
Due: 5pm 8 April
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

Team based learning task

Assessment Type 1: Quiz/Test
Indicative Time on Task 2: 12 hours
Due: Weeks 4, 6, 11
Weighting: 30%

 

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

Tutorial participation task

Assessment Type 1: Participatory task
Indicative Time on Task 2: 0 hours
Due: Weeks 2-13
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

Technology

This unit has a website which is accessible via www.mq.edu.au/iLearn. Here you can get access to unit materials including recording of lectures, copies of lecture slides, notices and a general discussion place to pose questions to staff.

Students are not required to acquire any specific technology for this unit but are expected to access the iLearn site and to use computers to produce their assignments.

Lecture and tutorials

This unit runs as a series of weekly lectures, and a tutorial program (1 session weekly). Recording of lectures will be made available on iLearn through Echo360. Copies of lecture slides will also be made available through iLearn. 

Students will need to enrol in a weekly tutorial and attend the same tutorial session each week. Tutorial registraition is via eStudent.

Unit Schedule

Week

Lecture Schedule (subject to change)

Tutorial

Assessments

Introducing environmental justice

 

1

 

Environmental justice and decision making in the Anthropocene (EO)

 

No tutorials

 

 

2

 

Environmental justice: theory, concepts and activism (EO)

 

Environmental justice

Team based learning activity test-run (trial only; not marked)

 

 

3

 

Intersectional environments (JM)

 

Experiencing intersectionality

 

 

 

4

 

Environmental justice case study (EO)

 

Justice in the Anthropocene

 

Team based learning assessment

 

Environmental justice and decision making tools and approaches

 

 

5

 

Environmental justice decision making tools and approaches (JM)

 

Systems mapping

 

 

 

6

 

Environmental justice tools and approaches (EO)

 

 

Spatial analysis and storytelling

 

 

Team based learning assessment

 

Environmental Justice in Australia

 

7

 

Environmental justice in Australia – planning and law (JM)

 

 

Analysing plans and decisions

 

 

Environmental justice essay due

 

Mid-session break

 

8

 

Indigenous peoples and environmental decision making (JM)

 

 

Indigenous resistance to environmental justice

 

 

Environmental justice case studies and futures

 

 

9

 

Forest justice (JM)

 

Regional Forest Agreement

 

 

 

10

 

Digital technologies and EJ (JM)

 

Digital technologies and EJ

 

 

 

11

Climate justice (EO)

Climate justice

 

Team based learning assessment

 

12

Multispecies justice (EO)

Multispecies justice

 

 

13

Just futures for the Anthropocene (EO)

 

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

Academic Integrity

At Macquarie, we believe academic integrity – honesty, respect, trust, responsibility, fairness and courage – is at the core of learning, teaching and research. We recognise that meeting the expectations required to complete your assessments can be challenging. So, we offer you a range of resources and services to help you reach your potential, including free online writing and maths support, academic skills development and wellbeing consultations.

Student Support

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

The Writing Centre

The Writing Centre provides resources to develop your English language proficiency, academic writing, and communication skills.

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

Student Services and Support

Macquarie University offers a range of Student Support Services including:

Student Enquiries

Got a question? Ask us via AskMQ, or contact Service Connect.

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
15/02/2022 Included unit schedule

Unit information based on version 2022.03 of the Handbook