This page suggests ways to include climate change perspectives in your degree.
ENVI 312 Interdisciplinary Aspects of Climate Change is the flagship paper for He Kaupapa Hononga. However, across the university, there are many papers which probe climate change and climate change related issues.
Background to the paper ENVI 312 Interdisciplinary Aspects of Climate Change
Paper information may change, please check the paper information for official details.
Overview
Climate change is likely to impact upon every sector of society. It will alter environments and economies, undermine the health and well-being of people and communities, and influence patterns of mobility and settlement. The impacts will be felt nationally and globally, albeit different peoples and cultures will be disproportionately affected. The mitigation of and adaptation to climate change necessitates a re-conceptualisation of ethics, the functions and focus of science and technology, and existing legal and economic paradigms. Thus, the phenomenon of climate change creates ramifications for every academic discipline.
Described by Richard Lazarus as a “wicked problem” (primarily because of its polycentric nature), climate change is difficult to silo into segments within individual disciplines. Rather, it necessitates a truly interdisciplinary approach to teaching and learning. Therefore, in the delivery of this paper, the School of Geography is working across three divisions to provide students with the opportunity to study the climate change phenomenon holistically.
Regardless of their chosen discipline and proposed career path, all students at Otago are entitled to access a structured and formal learning programme that will help them to understand the major conceptual paradigms, frameworks and theories that relate to climate change. This is turn will enable students to weave climate change considerations into their chosen academic discipline, to facilitate critical thinking within that discipline, and to ensure that students are properly prepared for life after graduation.
Paper prescription
Inter-disciplinary Aspects of Climate Change (ENVI 312) is a 300-level optional paper for the Environment and Society (ENVI) minor but it can be taken by any student as an optional paper towards their degree (subject to departmental approval). It provides an introduction to the scientific basis for, impacts of, and law and policy responses to climate change. The paper tends to be taught in second semester.
Paper information for ENVI 312
Contributors to ENVI 312
Contributors are subject to change, please check the subject paper information for current information:
Paper information for ENVI 312
Recent contributors
- Dr Francisco Barraza, School of Geography: Climate change: mitigation/adaptation
- Professor Nicolas Cullen, School of Geography: Climate change: introduction and the physical basis; a wicked problem and people's values; and indigenous knowledge.
- Professor Lisa Ellis, Department of Philosophy: Ethics and politics of adaptation
- Dr Sebastian Gehricke, Senior Lecturer, Department of Accountancy and Finance: Energy and carbon finance
- Emeritus Professor Frank Griffin, Department of Microbiology and Immunology: Agricultural impacts and resilience
- Professor James Higham, Department of Tourism: Tourism: low carbon transitions
- Dr Daniel Kingston, Senior Lecturer, School of Geography: Climate change and water
- Professor David Lont, Department of Accountancy and Finance: Company valuations and carbon emissions
- Dr Alexandra Macmillan, Senior Lecturer, Dunedin School of Medicine:Climate change and health
- Professor Ceri Warnock, Faculty of Law: Climate change: the law
- Associate Professor Sara Walton, Department of Management: Climate change as a business issue
Other climate change subject papers
Below are both papers dedicated to climate change, and papers that include disciplinary perspectives on climate change as a part of the course.
This list is intended to aid students to find further avenues to include climate change perspectives into their degree, whether it be finance, business, anthropology, etc. Please note that each paper will have its own pre-requisites and degree limitations, which can be found on its paper-specific page.
If you know of any further papers that offer climate change perspectives please contact us.
Email hekaupapa.hononga@otago.ac.nz
Subject papers dedicated to climate change
Environment and Society
ENVI 111 Environment and Society
ENVI 312 Interdisciplinary Aspects of Climate Change
Geography
GEOG 282Climate Change: Present and Future
GEOG 283Climate Change: The Past
GEOG 388Climate Change: Present and Future
GEOG 389Climate Change: The Past
GEOG 461Mountain Hydrology
Geology
GEOL 473 Advanced Topics in Paleoceanography and Paleoclimatology
Marine Science
MARI 431 Antarctic and Southern Ocean Science
Politics
POLS 307Nature, Conflict and the State
Physics
PHSI 243Environmental Physics
Public Health
PUBH 733 Environment and Health
Papers that include a disciplinary perspective on climate change
Accounting
ACCT 325Corporate Sustainability Accounting and Reporting
Agricultural Innovation
AGRI101 Agricultural Innovation
AGRI221 New Zealand Agricultural Systems
AGRI321 Agricultural Production and Food Security
AGRI322 Innovation and Healthy soils
Aquaculture and Fisheries
AQFI 251 Principles of Aquaculture
AQFI 352 Fisheries Ecology
Biology
BIOL 123 Plants: How They Shape the World
Botany
BTNY 201 Plant Functional Biology and Biotechnology
BTNY 203 Marine and Freshwater Botany
BTNY 301 Plant Ecology
BTNY 303 Topics in Field Botany
BTNY 465 Plant and Environment
BTNY 469 Principles of Nature Conservation
Chemistry
CHEM 206 Analytical Chemistry
CHEM 306 Analytical Chemistry 2
Earth and Ocean Science
EAOS 111Earth and Ocean Science
Ecology
ECOL 111 Ecology and Conservation of Diversity
Energy Management
EMAN 204Energy Resources
EMAN 404Advanced Energy Resources
Environment and Society
ENVI 311Understanding Environmental Issues
Finance
FINC 320 Sustainable Investing
FINC 420Energy and Carbon Finance
Geography
ENVI 211 Environmental History of New Zealand
GEOG 101Physical Geography
GEOG 102Human Geography
GEOG 212 / GEOG 382Transformations in Developing Countries
GEOG 215 / GEOG 384Urban Geography
GEOG 216 Environmental Management: Principles and Values
GEOG 228 / GEOG 328Uneven Development in Contemporary India
GEOG 276 / GEOG 376Geographies of Contestation, Action and Change
GEOG 286Climatology
GEOG 287 Plants, People and the Environment
GEOG 298 / GEOG 398Coastal Geomorphology
GEOG 392Climatology
GEOG 393 Plants, People and the Environment
GEOG 397Environmental Management
GEOG 401Theories of Development
GEOG 402Development Planning and Practice
GEOG 460Climatology
GEOG 463Geographies of Justice
GEOG 471Impact Assessment and Sustainability
GEOG 472 Developments in Environmental Management
Geology
GEOL 112 Dynamic Earth: A New Zealand Perspective
GEOL 262 / GEOL 362 Geochemistry
GEOL 263 / GEOL 363 Paleoenvironments and Basin Evolution
GEOL 265 / GEOL 365 Natural Hazards of NZ and Beyond
GEOL 272 / GEOL 372 Evolution of New Zealand Biota
GEOL 273 / GEOL 373 Modern and Ancient Sedimentary Systems
GEOL 276 / GEOL 376 Geological Resources and Sustainability
GEOL 353 Earth Evolution and Plate Tectonics
GEOL 461 Advanced Topics in Geophysics 1
GEOL 462 Advanced Topics in Geochemistry
GEOL 463 Advanced Topics in Paleobiology and Evolution
GEOL 472 Advanced Topics in Environmental Geochemistry
Global Studies
GLBL 201 Cultures of the Environment
Human Nutrition
HUNT 141 Understanding Human Nutrition
Management
MANT 337Organisations and Sustainability
MANT 437Organisations and Sustainability
MANT 443Special Topic: Advanced Organisations and Sustainability
Marine Science / Oceanography
MARI 112 Marine Biology: The Living Ocean
MARI 201 Oceanography: The Physical Ocean
MARI 202 Ecology and Biology of Marine Invertebrates
MARI 301 Marine Ecology and Ecosystems
MARI 302 Biology and Behaviour of Marine Vertebrates
MARI 322 Coastal and Shelf Seas Oceanography
MARI 403 Critical Thinking for Environmental Scientists
MARI 429 Coastal Marine Environment
Materials Science and Technology
MATS 204Treasure of Trash: Sustainability of Material
Mathematics
MATH 120 Mathematics for Scientists
Marine Science/Oceanography
MARI 201 Oceanography: The Physical Ocean
MARI 322 Coastal and Shelf Seas Oceanography
Pacific Islands Studies
PACI 101Pacific Societies
PACI 201Contemporary Pacific Island Issues
PACI 310 Special Topic: Pacific People, Climate Change and Power
PACI 401Tinā Pacifika – Women in Polynesian Communities
PACI 402Resource Conservation and Environment in the Pacific
Philosophy
PHIL 235Environmental Philosophy
Physics
PHSI 132 Fundamentals of Physics II
PHSI 422Upper Atmospheric and Space Physics
PHSI 426Fluids, Instability and Transport Phenomena
Plant Biotechnology
PLBI 301 Applied Plant Science
Politics
POLS 207Environmental Politics
POLS 228Contemporary Issues in Global Politics
POLS 312Ethics in International Relations
POLS 323Marxism: Classical and Contemporary
POLS 330 Special Topic: Politics of Climate Change
Public Health
PUBH 303Public and Global Health: Current Issues
Religious Studies
RELS 241 Religion, Conflict and Conspiracy Theory
Science Communication
SCOM 109Communicating Science – An Introduction
SCOM 406 Science Communication Strategies and Resources
Social Anthropology
ANTH 206Anthropology of Globalisation
Sport, Physical Education and Exercise
SPEX 314 Advanced Sport Management
SPEX 440 Advanced Topics in Physical Education, Activity and Health
SPEX 450 Advanced Topics in Exercise and Sport Science
SPEX 460 Advanced Topics in Sport Development and Management
Tourism
TOUR 101Introduction to Tourism
TOUR 422Tourism and Global Environmental Change
Zoology
ZOOL 313Animal Function and Environment
ZOOL 416Freshwater Ecology
ZOOL 418Conservation Biology of Marine Mammals
Postgraduate opportunities
He Kaupapa Hononga encourages and supports postgraduate research into climate change.
- Postgraduate Research opportunities database provides information about research vacancies for postgraduates
- Otago Climate Change Postgraduate Network information provides a means to connect with other postgraduates
- Visit our news page for news, activities and events