[This is a certified Communication-intensive (CI) Course which meets all of the requirements endorsed by HKU’s Senate, including (i) the teaching assessment of oral and digital communication ‘literacies’; and (ii) at least 40% of the course grade assigned to communication-rich assessment tasks.]

Course Description

War is often used as a means to advance political agendas and justified through perceived benefits to society. Yet, the act of war is universally disastrous for our planet’s environmental health. War and violent conflicts displace humans, destroy terrestrial and aquatic resources, and lead to the exploitation and extirpation of biodiversity. At the same time, military infrastructure and “off-limits” areas have become some of the world’s best conservation areas. Regardless, the human toll of war makes it easy for the public to overlook the immeasurable damage and few benefits that war inflicts on nature.

This course will cover the major themes of conservation biology and ecology through the lens of direct and indirect consequences on ecosystems as a result of human conflicts. These themes include species extinctions, habitat loss, climate change, pollution, invasive species, and a few positive examples of conservation, ecosystem restoration, and species recovery. The course will highlight case studies for students to critically evaluate, providing a historical context for the conflict and the ecological and socio-economic consequences.

Course Learning Outcomes

On completing the course, students will be able to:

1. Identify and describe historical environmental impacts as a result of military actions, violent conflict and war.
2. Demonstrate understanding of some of the fundamental concepts of conservation biology.
3. Demonstrate inherent link between war tactics and environmental damage.
4. Apply the knowledge from above to propose policies that militaries could initiate to reduce their ecological footprint.
5. Present the history of war through the perspective of ecology in digital and oral formats that are suitable for the wider public.

Offer Semester and Day of Teaching

Summer Semester
Jul 10 – Aug 4, 2023
Mon, Wed & Fri (9:30 am to 11:20 am)

[This is a certified Communication-intensive (CI) Course which meets all of the requirements endorsed by HKU’s Senate, including (i) the teaching and assessment of written, visual and digital communication ‘literacies’; and (ii) at least 40% of the course grade assigned to communication-rich assessment tasks.]

Course Description

Nature and the city are frequently, but not always, in conflict. This course explores our relationship with the natural environment using the urban built infrastructure, cultural habits and traditions, and the creative arts to provide a framework for the students’ exploration of the intersection between the natural world and our urban environment

• Survey – The human relationship with nature in the urban context:
  First, we will look for evidence of nature in the city, at different scales, and observe both our attempts to replicate or enhance nature and our attempts to exclude or suppress it (both of which are often unsuccessful).

• Analysis – How that relationship influences the form of the city:
  We will then critically explore the relationship between development and nature in the urban context, using an understanding of natural laws to investigate how cultural traditions, perceptions, and meanings, and the realities of urban infrastructure, lifestyle and economics, complement or flout those laws.

• Design – Using an understanding of that relationship as a basis for articulating issues and ideas:
  Finally, we will apply our observations and understanding of nature in the city to develop techniques, analyses, and metaphors, to illustrate and communicate issues related to other disciplines and to a variety of public stakeholders.

The course assignments include the production of a group video and a metaphorical poster, however artistic experience or ability is not a pre-requisite of the course. Support and guidance for these elements will be provided as part of the course lectures, tutorials and demonstrations.

Course Learning Outcomes

On completing the course, students will be able to:

1. Understand issues related to nature in the city, the historical relationship between human activity and nature in the urban context, and the spectrum between ‘artificial’ and ‘natural’ and articulate the complex relationship through written forms.
2. Articulate the contradictions and expectations in the relationship between us and nature and present them visually.
3. Demonstrate how to contextualize these understandings in the students own disciplinary studies, using metaphor, analogies and illustrative skills through visual forms e.g. metaphorical.

Offer Semester and Day of Teaching

Summer Semester
Jun 26 – Jul 21, 2023
Tue & Thu (10:00 am – 12:50pm)

Study Load

Assessment: 100% coursework

Required Reading

• Altman, I., & Chemers, M. M. (1980). Culture and environment. Brooks/Cole Publishing Company. [Chap. 2]
• Cronon, W. (1996). Uncommon ground: Rethinking the human place in nature. W.W. Norton & Company. [Introduction]
• Lima, M. (2014). The book of trees: Visualizing branches of knowledge. New York: Princeton Architectural Press.
• Weisman, W. (2007). The world without us. Thomas Dunne Books, St. Martin’s Press, New York. [Chaps. 3, 7]

[This is a certified Communication-intensive (CI) Course which meets all of the requirements endorsed by HKU’s Senate, including (i) the teaching assessment of oral and visual communication ‘literacies’; and (ii) at least 40% of the course grade assigned to communication-rich assessment tasks.]

Course Description

This course will draw on economics, evolutionary theory, and psychology to address the key issues:

1. How did humans go from relatively isolated tribal life to an increasingly cooperative, interconnected, globalized world?
2. How can our knowledge of human nature and past progress be used to help solve major societal challenges?

The theme of this course is that natural selection is a useful framework for understanding how humans have progressed from subsisting in relatively isolated groups to where individuals are highly specialized in their productive efforts and highly integrated with the entire world through globalization. The course will explore how this progression may be the result of genetic selection, but likely more the result of selection acting on ideas, or memes, rather than genes, but in an analogous manner.

Through an understanding of human evolution, the origin of economic development will be explored. Combined with the psychological perspective of understanding the individual, we attempt to shed light on how complex civilization has come into existence. Lectures will ask one or two main scientific questions and then focus on answering them, showing the types of evidence that can be used to address the question and the logical progression of ideas.

Course Learning Outcomes

On completing the course, students will be able to:

1. Demonstrate an understanding and awareness of the various domains of human progress.
2. Describe and explain the basic principles of evolutionary theory as a model for human progress.
3. Demonstrate an understanding of how trade and specialization are central to human advancement.
4. Apply knowledge and understanding of evolutionary theory, psychology, and the scientific method to solving several societal problems.
5. Develop and demonstrate ability to speak effectively, display data in graphs, and convey messages by integrating text and graphics.

Offer Semester and Day of Teaching

Summer Semester
Jun 26 – Jul 21, 2023
Mon, Wed & Fri (4:30 pm – 6:20 pm)

Study Load

Assessment: 100% coursework

Required Reading

• Ridley, M. (2010). The rational optimist: How prosperity evolves. New York: Harper.
• Harari, Y. (2014). Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind. Harper Perennial. [Selected chapters]

Course Co-ordinator and Teacher(s)