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751-2107-00L 5 Credits MSC D-USYS

Agrarian and Environmental Values: Tensions, Synergies, Practices and Policies

Lecturers & Examiners: Dr. Mollie Chapman
Limited to 20 students.
VVZ CR n/a

Last Updated: 2026-06-03 00:07:19

Abstract

In politics, society, and science, it can seem that the values and practices of agricultural production and environmental protection are in conflict. This tension is often described as “protection versus use” of natural resources. We will explore ways to move beyond the apparent conflict. We will apply this learning to field trips and transdisciplinary projects.

Objective

Students are able to: - Define different kinds and categories of values. - Relate value concepts to their own studies, life, and experiences through reflective journaling. - Infer the underlying values in a text or policy about agri-environmental topics. - Collaboratively develop a transdisciplinary project for an agri-environmental case study from the field trips.

Content

The course consists of interactive seminars alongside fieldtrips to farms that have found innovative solutions to balancing protection and production. Seminars will cover topics such as the relationship between values and behavior and how people perceive value trade-offs. We will also discuss environmental valuation and its critiques, the interplay of facts and values in agri-environmental decision-making, different kinds of values important in agriculture and plural approaches to values, especially relational values. This class requires active participation. Learning is based on in-class activities, group work and fieldtrips.

Resources

Literature

Literature will draw from political ecology, value theory and environmental values, as well as case studies and primary texts, such as the following (not all will be required reading; we will read 1 or 2 papers or book chapters each week). Agyeman, J., Schlosberg, D., Craven, L., & Matthews, C. (2016). Trends and directions in environmental justice: from inequity to everyday life, community, and just sustainabilities. Annual Review of Environment and Resources, 41(1), 321-340. Altieri MA & Nicholls CI (2020): Agroecology and the reconstruction of a post-COVID-19 agriculture, The Journal of Peasant Studies Arias-Arévalo, Paola, Elena Lazos-Chavero, Ana S Monroy-Sais, Sara H Nelson, Agnieszka Pawlowska-Mainville, Arild Vatn, Mariana Cantú-Fernández, Ranjini Murali, Barbara Muraca, and Unai Pascual. "The Role of Power in Leveraging the Diverse Values of Nature for Transformative Change." Current Opinion in Environmental Sustainability 64 (October 2023): 101352. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cosust.2023.101352 . Burton, Rob J. F., and Upananda Herath Paragahawewa. "Creating Culturally Sustainable Agri-Environmental Schemes." Journal of Rural Studies 27, no. 1 (2011): 95–104. Carlisle, Liz. "Critical Agrarianism." Renewable Agriculture and Food Systems 29, no. 02 (January 11, 2013): 135–45. https://doi.org/10.1017/S1742170512000427 . Horcea-Milcu, Andra-Ioana, David J. Abson, Cristina I. Apetrei, Ioana Alexandra Duse, Rebecca Freeth, Maraja Riechers, David P. M. Lam, Christian Dorninger, and Daniel J. Lang. "Values in Transformational Sustainability Science: Four Perspectives for Change." Sustainability Science 14, no. 5 (September 2019): 1425–37. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11625-019-00656-1 . O’Neill, Holland and Light, 2008 Environmental Values, IPBES Values Assessment 2023 Trainor, Sarah Fleisher. "Realms of Value: Conflicting Natural Resource Values and Incommensurability." Environmental Values 15, no. 1 (2006): 3–29. https://doi.org/10.3197/096327106776678951 . Ostrom, E. (1990). Governing the commons: The evolution of institutions for collective action. Cambridge university press. CHAPTER 3 Pascual, Unai, Patricia Balvanera, and Michael Christie. “Editorial Overview: Leveraging the Multiple Values of Nature for Transformative Change to Just and Sustainable Futures —Insights from the IPBES Values Assessment.” Current Opinion in Environmental Sustainability64 (October 2023): 101359. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cosust.2023.101359 . Smith, Kimberly. "Black Agrarianism and the Foundations of Black Environmental Thought." Edited by Eugene C. Hargrove. Environmental ethics 26, no. 3 (2004): 267–86. https://doi.org/10.5840/enviroethics200426316 . Schneider, Flurina, Thomas Ledermann, Patricia Fry, and Stephan Rist. "Soil Conservation in Swiss Agriculture—Approaching Abstract and Symbolic Meanings in Farmers’ Life-Worlds." Land Use Policy 27, no. 2 (2010): 332–39. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.landusepol.2009.04.007 . Tribaldos, T., & Kortetmäki, T. (2022). Just transition principles and criteria for food systems and beyond. Environmental Innovation and Societal Transitions, 43, 244-256.

General Information

Language
English
Levels
MSC
Frequency
Yearly recurring

Examination

Type
ungraded semester performance
The grade will be composed of following parts:- class journal (10%);- active participation in class activities+excursion (30%);- final project in groups (60%)

Registration & Places

Max Places
20
Priority: Registration for the course unit is until 30.08.2026 only possible for the primary target group

Course Components

Type Title Time & Place Hours
lecture with exercise Agrarian and Environmental Values: Tensions, Synergies, Practices and Policies
The course takes place Mondays 13:00 to 16:00 in CHN K77 during the autumn semester. In addition we will have several day trips as part of a compulsory excursion, including a half day in January 2027.
No time listed 3 h weekly

Offered In