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751-2105-00L 3 Credits MSC D-USYS , D-ARCH

Political Ecology of Food and Agriculture

Lecturers & Examiners: Prof. Dr. Johanna Jacobi
Number of participants limited to 25. All students who register will be on the waiting list. A motivational application is required until 31 August: - presenting yourself and your studies - stating what topic in the field of Political Ecology that you are interested in - suggesting one paper to enrich the literature list for the course The selected students will be notified on 8 September. Questions regarding the application to .
VVZ CR n/a

Last Updated: 2026-06-01 11:30:26

Abstract

In this seminar, students are introduced to the multi-disciplinary field of political ecology to investigate human-environment relationships in food and agricultural systems.

Objective

- Being able to provide an overview of the multi-disciplinary field of political ecology for investigating the relationships of humans to our environment - Learn to identify how power and interest influence social-ecological systems and to distinguish symptoms from systemic root causes - Become enabled to analyse complex and sometimes distant human-ecology relationships choosing from a broad range of methods

Content

We will review common narratives in agri-food systems informed by a range of different theories and assisted by different analytical tools. For this purpose, we will start from different concepts of nature, power and interests, explore different ontologies and epistemologies through a set of topics such as hunger, obesity, agrobiodiversity and seeds, forests and deforestation, climate change and food production. Students will explain one concept in each course to the groups and practice their argumentative and writing skills in a final essay, applying the acquired tools to a topic of their choice. While specific inputs from external lecturers broaden our perspective, enough time for critical discussion and reflection will be granted.

Resources

Lecture Notes

19.9.2025 Introduction to political ecology26.9.2025 Ontologies and epistemologies3.10.2025 Deforestation: Root causes and alternatives10.10.2025 Climate justice and food systems17.10.2025 Green revolution, industrial agriculture, and agroecology24.10.2025 Conservation: Protecting what from what?31.10.2025 Don't blame the rain: Water management in agriculture7.11.2025 Pandemics, syndemics and the food system14.11.2025 Technology and the politics of knowledge21.11.2025 Land-sharing, land-sparing28.11.2025 Food: Commons or commodity?5.12.2025 Feminist (political) agroecology12.12.2025 Alternatives to sustainable development19.12.2025 Final session (The Hunger Banquet)

Literature

Literaturelist provided on Moodle when the course starts.

Learning Materials (Links)

General Information

Language
English
Levels
MSC
Frequency
Yearly recurring

Examination

Type
graded semester performance
- Active participation including complying with the reading assignment for every session: 30% (oral or written contributions possible)- Session preparation (group task): 30%- Final Essay (max. 3000 words excluding references): 40%

Registration & Places

Limited places (Special selection)
Signup End
26.09.2025
Priority: Registration for the course unit is only possible for the primary target group

Course Components

Type Title Time & Place Hours
lecture with exercise Political Ecology of Food and Agriculture
  • Fri 14:15-16:00 (LFW C 11)
2 h weekly

Offered In