EGS5047F - Policy And Governance

Course Outline:

This course looks at the underlying dynamics involved in the negotiation of environmental policy and its implementation. The assumption here is that unsustainable outcomes are not a result of a lack of will or intention, but rather due to vastly varying values, knowledge and data that are brought to bear on decision making for the environment. The approach of this course is to challenge the ‘cultural embeddedness’ of policy i.e. it critiques the cultural processes underlying environmental policy. A deeper understanding of the cultural politics of environmental policy and practice will deal with the processes through which institutions define and mediate policy outcomes; governance arrangements for sustainable development; the roles of power, rationality, knowledge and values in achieving environmental and social justice. At the NQF 9 level students will be expected to apply theory to appropriate areas of application in the realm of urban environmental policy. Masters level students will be assigned two presentations and subsequent written submissions, with an emphasis on the application of theoretical considerations. The extended policy analysis assignment will contain additional analytical variables to ensure a higher level of analysis.