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Introduction to the theories of HES Introductory lecture, Sept. 22, 2008

Introduction to the theories of HES Introductory lecture, Sept. 22, 2008. Prof. St. Engel, Prof. R. W. Scholz, Prof. K. Seeland, Prof. M. Siegrist Institute for Environmental Decisions (IED). 0. The Lecture of today.

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Introduction to the theories of HES Introductory lecture, Sept. 22, 2008

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  1. Introduction to the theories of HESIntroductory lecture, Sept. 22, 2008 Prof. St. Engel, Prof. R. W. Scholz, Prof. K. Seeland, Prof. M. Siegrist Institute for Environmental Decisions (IED)

  2. 0. The Lecture of today • Prerequisites, goals, and vision of the HES Major (and of this lecture, Scholz, 10 minutes) • Introduction of the clusters • Natural and Social Science Interface (Scholz) • Risk perception (Siegrist) • Environmental policy and economics (Engel) • Cultural ecology (Seeland) • How to get credit points from this lecture (Seeland)

  3. Prerequisites, goals, and vision of the HES Major What is the object of the HES major • We (environmental scientists) want to understand how the environment works and how it interacts with human systems. • Objects are structure, dynamics and quality of human systems and human-environmental interactions

  4. 1. The vision of the HES major • Acquiring skills necessary for strategic environmental decision making and governance within the frame of sustainable development • Getting access to decision theoretic thinking and methods • Becoming able to investigate complex environmental problems of the anthroposphere, i.e., feed-backed human-environment systems • Getting closer to he systemic or system-theoretic approach. It emerges from a subject-unspecific, structural sciences domain (system theory) but acknowledges the specific characteristics of the human system (e.g., individuals or institutions) as well as the environment of these systems. • Becoming able to deal with historically changing environmental problems and challenges, which resemble one another in their genesis, structure, and in the way that they are represented, evaluated, and coped with. This includes gaining understanding of the knowledge a society has to a quire and an understanding of the the social conflicts going along with environmental resources.

  5. Prerequisites - what the students are required to bring with • Basic three-years BSc education of a (technical) university • Some social sciences • Basics in econonomics and law • Social science methods • Some in depth knowledge of one social science discipline (psychology, sociology, economics or philosophy) • Knowledge about the anthroposphere/HES

  6. Bachelor Anthroposphäre (1 CP, Lang & Scholz) Regelmechanismen der Anthroposphäre I (Lang & Scholz) Regelmechanismen der Anthoposphäre II (Minsch) ... Masters Introduction to the theories of human-environment systems (3 CP, Scholz, Engel, Seeland, Siegrist) HES Systems I - Individual and organizational interactions with environmental systems (Scholz, Lehmann, Siegrist) HES Systems II - (Engel, Zimmermann) The track of lectures in the BSc and MSc to Human-environment Systems

  7. The structure of HES major

  8. The formula of the curriculum:“120 = (30 + 10) + (*10 + *10) + *30 + **30” • 30 = 30 CP from the 5 modules • 10 = 10 CP from the compulsory case study (attention: this study starts one week before the spring term and will take presumably the first three weeks of the summer break) • *10 + *10 (means twice that 10 CP from a Minor or freely elected lectures, which must count for 10 Natural Science Credit Points [NS-CPs]); see the specific list • *30 is the Master’s Thesis • The last **30s mean the internship (ask Regula Steiner)

  9. What type of questions the HES-MSc students should be able to professionally cope with? Which are the tasks of environmental sciences in society and science in general? To which problems can theories of HES contribute, to which not? How (by what methods) to investigate environmental decision behavior? How do the different micro- and macro-levels of human-environment systems function and interact? What is the contribution of social sciences to explain these phenomena? Which methods are pertinent (adequate) to investigate the different societal and ecological micro- and macro-levels? What drives (un-)sustainable activities and decision behavior? What are the basic concepts and tools of environmental governance to govern processes on micro- and macro-levels of human-environmental systems?

  10. The three perspectives on HES • To investigate how human systems (e.g. mining companies) affect the environment (landscape, (ground)water and air pollution [H --> E]) • To investigate how environmental systems (change) affect human systems (e.g. soil contamination --> public health, climate change --> inter-national justice, etc., [E --> H]) • Studying the interactions (H <--> E) means, e.g., that we study how human impacts on the environment affect human systems (e.g., how industrial emissions affects human fertility; how certain types of agriculture affect long term wealth)

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