Climate change is a major concern today. There are ethical questions about how we should solve the problem and what are the technological options available. There are further ethical questions that arise because global warming is a worldwide phenomenon. What are our ethical obligations to others, near and far, future generations and other species? We have inherited many injustices across the world and perhaps the present climate crisis now offers an opportunity to address them. Climate change and new technologies are having a severe impact on many people and we need to examine our actions to ensure that they are just for all people. This course will examine many of the important ethical questions that are raised because of the climate change crisis as well as reviewing our relationship to the natural world. Is this problem much deeper than just reducing greenhouse gases in the atmosphere?
Environmental Ethics: Technology, Climate Justice and the Environment
This is an In-person course which requires your attendance to the weekly meetings which take place in Oxford.
Overview
Programme details
Course starts: 23rd Jan 2025
Week 1: The environment: what is the environment? (urban, rural, natural)
Week 2: Technology: energy.
Week 3: Technology: transport.
Week 4: Climate justice: north and south.
Week 5: Climate justice: extraction industries.
Week 6: Climate justice: food industries and waste.
Week 7: Climate justice: future generations.
Week 8: Environment: other species.
Week 9: Environment: the natural world.
Week 10: Environmental ethics: towards a new and fairer world.
Recommended reading
All weekly class students may become borrowing members of the Rewley House Continuing Education Library for the duration of their course. Prospective students whose courses have not yet started are welcome to use the Library for reference. More information can be found on the Library website.
There is a Guide for Weekly Class students which will give you further information.
Availability of titles on the reading list (below) can be checked on SOLO, the library catalogue.
Preparatory reading
- Ethics of global climate change / Arnold, Dennis G.
- Environmental ethics / Boylan, Michael ed.
- Why climate justice matters and why should we care / Cripps, Elizabeth
- Ethics: the fundamentals / Driver, Julia
- Environmental ethics: from theory to practice / Hourdequin, Marion
- The ethics of climate change: an introduction / Williston, Byron
Certification
To complete the course and receive a certificate, you will be required to attend at least 80% of the classes on the course and pass your final assignment. Upon successful completion, you will receive a link to download a University of Oxford digital certificate. Information on how to access this digital certificate will be emailed to you after the end of the course. The certificate will show your name, the course title and the dates of the course you attended. You will be able to download your certificate or share it on social media if you choose to do so.
Fees
| Description | Costs |
|---|---|
| Course Fee | £285.00 |
| Take this course for CATS points | £30.00 |
Funding
If you are in receipt of a UK state benefit, you are a full-time student in the UK or a student on a low income, you may be eligible for a reduction of 50% of tuition fees. Please see the below link for full details:
Tutor
Dr Helen Barnard
Helen Barnard has been teaching at the Department of Continuing Education for fifteen years as well as a second level course in philosophy with the Open University. Her specialist interest is environmental ethics and climate change ethics, but also all other aspects of ethics.
Course aims
To introduce students to the many environmental and ethical problems that arise from climate change.
Course objectives:
- To understand the many environmental problems that we face.
- To appreciate the need for justice across the world when dealing with climate change.
- To have a good knowledge of opposing opinions as concerns climate change.
- To be able to offer arguments for and against various solutions to climate change.
- To begin to analyse the deeper ethical problems that we face concerning the environment.
Teaching methods
The course will consist of ten classes in each of which a topic will be presented in the form of a lecture accompanied by PowerPoint. The students will be encouraged to discuss each of the topics in open debate within the class.
Learning outcomes
By the end of the course students will be expected to:
- understand the ethical implications that arise from climate change;
- appreciate the need to relate climate change to other environmental problems;
- understand the importance of ethical frameworks to govern any of our decisions about climate change;
- be able to frame arguments on the many ethical issues that arise from climate change.
Assessment methods
Students will be asked to write either two pieces of work of 700 words each, or one essay on a set topic.
Coursework is an integral part of all weekly classes and everyone enrolled will be expected to do coursework in order to benefit fully from the course. Only those who have registered for credit will be awarded CATS points for completing work to the required standard.
Students must submit a completed Declaration of Authorship form at the end of term when submitting your final piece of work. CATS points cannot be awarded without the aforementioned form - Declaration of Authorship form
Application
To earn credit (CATS points) for your course you will need to register and pay an additional £30 fee per course. You can do this by ticking the relevant box at the bottom of the enrolment form or when enrolling online.
Please use the 'Book' or 'Apply' button on this page. Alternatively, please complete an Enrolment Form (Word) or Enrolment Form (Pdf)
Level and demands
The Department's Weekly Classes are taught at FHEQ Level 4, i.e. first year undergraduate level, and you will be expected to engage in a significant amount of private study in preparation for the classes. This may take the form, for instance, of reading and analysing set texts, responding to questions or tasks, or preparing work to present in class.
Credit Accumulation and Transfer Scheme (CATS)
To earn credit (CATS points) you will need to register and pay an additional £30 fee per course. You can do this by ticking the relevant box at the bottom of the enrolment form or when enrolling online. Students who register for CATS points will receive a Record of CATS points on successful completion of their course assessment.
Students who do not register for CATS points during the enrolment process can either register for CATS points prior to the start of their course or retrospectively from the January 1st after the current full academic year has been completed. If you are enrolled on the Certificate of Higher Education you need to indicate this on the enrolment form but there is no additional registration fee.