Due: 10am each Friday from Week 1

            Words: 1000

            Submission: Canvas

Purpose:

1.     to demonstrate your understanding of the weekly readings;

2.     to develop your critical thinking skills;

3.     to demonstrate your ability to apply theoretical approaches to EJ to current environmental issues;

4.     to ensure you are prepared for the lectures

5.     to trigger questions for the Drop-in Sessions

You are expected to have read the week’s articles before you attend the lecture - you will get much more from the lecture if you have.

In place of weekly tutorials you will be required to deliver reflections that integrate your understanding of the weekly academic readings with additional material on a current environmental issue or issues. The additional materials will be uploaded to Canvas each Monday morning along with the reflection guidelines for that week.

Each week you are expected to submit a reflection of no more than 100 words on the week’s readings and the issue/s identified in that week’s Link Pack.

You must demonstrate your engagement with the key claims of each academic reading and consider how they are reflected in the ‘issue/s’ material.

Detailed instructions for each week’s task will be included in your Weekly Link Pack.

You are expected to come to lectures with reactions to, and questions about the academic readings.

2    Mid-Semester | Brochure/Website Page | 25%

Due:                Midnight  Monday 28 September

Words:           1000

Submission:  Canvas - upload as Document or Screenshot(s) of webpage (s)

Purpose:        To demonstrate your: 

1.     detailed understanding of two theories of justice;

2.     ability to apply that knowledge to a current issue in environmental politics;

3.     ability to think critically;

4.     ability to develop a logical argument; and

5.     ability to write clearly, concisely and persuasively

Taking two of the approaches to justice we have looked at, create either a brochure (use a standard Word or Google docs template) or a website (use Google Sites) that examines how and why a current issue in Australian environmental politics is a matter of justice. You will need to demonstrate how framing the issue as a matter of justice can assist politicians and policy makers when making decisions that affect the environment.  You must support the material with references - provide a separate document with your bibliography (the bibliography is not included in the word count).

See the Assessment Rubric in Canvas for specific marking criteria.

Your Brochure/Website must have a title that clearly identifies the environmental issue/environmental movement and the justice frameworks you are using.

Your task is to explain to/persuade Australian politicians and policy makers that justice is an appropriate framework for successfully addressing your chosen environmental issue/environmental movement.

You must choose two justice frameworks from the four we have examined (Rawlsian, Libertarian/Nozickian, Recognition, and a Capabilities approach) and provide a comparative examination of how the two approaches could deal with your chosen issue.

While your brochure/website is designed for everyday consumption it must demonstrate you have engaged in a critical examination of the literature - that is it must detail both the usefulness and the flaws of the theories within your chosen context - while making the case that the issue is a matter of justice. That is, you will be examining the ways that justice frames can contribute to assisting politicians and policy makers address your chosen environmental problem/issue/movement.

You are expected to draw the justice framework materials from the class literature and source and conduct your own research on the environmental issue/environmental movement - this does not have to be from scholarly sources: it is more likely to come from newspapers, TV, Podcasts, videos, websites, blog posts, etc.

3    Research Essay | 50%

            Due:                Outline | Midnight Monday 26 October

Completed Essay | Midnight Monday 30 November

Words:           2500

Submission:  Canvas

Purpose:        To demonstrate your: 

1.     understanding of a current issue of environmental politics as a matter of justice;

2.     understanding of justice as an organising framework;

3.     understanding of critical/decolonial theory;

4.     ability to engage in critical thinking;

5.     ability to apply critical/decolonial theories of justice to a case study;

6.     critical thinking skills;

7.     ability to mount a logical academic argument;

8.     essay writing skills including appropriate structure, accurate spelling and grammatical structure, appropriate and consistent referencing

Choose a current environmental/ecological/intergenerational/climate change issue/campaign/movement/organisation - one that has made headlines in 2020 such as the summer bushfires of 2019-2020, the drought, the floods, the spill storms, the Juukan cave explosion, COVID 19, the 2020 review of the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act (EPBC), Australia’s BLM movement, mid-central coast erosion, a nuclear waste dump for Australia, new coal or gas mining licences, or something else (and it mus=t be an issue that has been ‘live’ in 2020).