Teaching Method (virtual classroom) & technical requirements for participation:

This seminar is an only online course using the method of a virtual classroom setting. All meetings will be held in the virtual room and no face to face meetings in the physical room will take place. The principle requirement for successful participation is a laptop and a headset with microphone. No specific software is needed, only your browser should be up to date as we use Adobe Connect from Cedis to create the virtual space, which you can open just by clicking on the link from the instruction email (see below). All technical issues will be discussed (if necessary in German) in the first meeting. All sessions will be recorded and made available for you on blackboard. Everyone who has listed on this course will receive detailed information of how to login by the course instructor.

For a first overview, please watch the following video by clicking here.

What is to consider:

First, you will receive an email by the instructor of how to enter the virtual classroom. This email will be sent to everyone who is listed in the blackboard 24 hours before out first meeting on April 21.
Secondly, the first session is crucial for participating in the class. This session is saved for learning the tool (Adobe Connect). Those who have not participated in this session cannot join later on because the required skills to successfully take part in the virtual course cannot be obtained later on. Additionally, the blackboard will be closed after the first session for registration.
Thirdly, a weekly consultation hour will take place Sunday from 4 pm to 6 pm in a virtual room particular designed for this purpose.
Last but not least, participants are requested to log into the classroom no later than 6.15 pm. Since every participant requires an individual approval by the instructor, this approval cannot be guaranteed when the session has already started.

What the course is about:

The impacts of climate change on human populations at a global scale are both diverse and complex. Competing definitions on climate change range from climate change mitigation, security and migration issues to questions of development (Vlassopoulos 2011). At the regional level, the perception of climate change impacts is strongly influenced by underlying social realities. In order to analyze the past and current climate change adaptation policies, it is essential to understand the relative importance of broad social conditions (e.g. political system, cultural peculiarities, national history, etc.) and localized social deprivations (income, infrastructure, public services, etc.) on the perception of climate change impacts at the community level.
As this seminar is conducted in association with the Environmental Justice Institute, we will also invite recognized researchers in the field, like professor John Dryzek from Canberra University. An overview of possible invitees can be found here. This course will also be opened to students from universities abroad. For continuously updated information please bookmark this website .

What is to learn:

The seminar aims to deal with these questions in the context of the COP21 results as well as by looking at national, provincial, and local cases. Significant attention will also be drawn to methodological toolkits for both analyzing the existing policies and supporting policy making by critical analysis of the framework.
Additionally, you will be trained to use Adobe Connect – a leading virtual classroom software – as a participant and as a presenter. If ou wish, a confirmation of this item will be issued by the instructor upon request after successful participation in the subject.

If you cannot enrol for that course on blackboard for any reason or if you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact the instructor by mailing to goetz.kaufmann@environmentaljustice.de.
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