C-SAP: Centre for Sociology, Anthropology & Politics

1. Education for Sustainable DevelopmentDr. Colin Brooks & Dr. Alex RyanContact: alex@learning-energy.org C-SAP: Centre for Sociology, Anthropology & Politics HCA: Centre for History, Classics & Archaeology “struggles for the control of scarce resources have formed one of the central battlegrounds of human activity”

2. ACTION RESEARCH:analysing provision & engaging academics - networking directory & email group - phone interviews & inter-disciplinary discussion day - module examples of content & pedagogy innovations - final project report & resources/publications list

3. KEY THEMES IDENTIFIED: • HCA: implicitness – context/time specific analyses • C-SAP: systematic – globalisation theory & cultural relativism • Multiple definitions: ‘sustainability’, ‘nature’, ‘progress’ • Specific disciplinary trajectories for engagement • Prompts from global political & environmental events • Inter-disciplinary initiatives & academic expertise • Integration needed on sites & issues for analysis

4. WITHIN THE DISCIPLINES:current provision and practice • Environmental ‘sub-fields’ in Anth, Arch, Hist, Pol & Soc – varying degrees of development and impact • UG: few relevant programmes but many 2nd/3rd year optional modules of direct relevance – not embedded • PG: range of relevant programmes and modules – level of embedding appearing here and variety of research activity • Developments in the disciplines: development & environmental Anth, industrial, landscape & heritage Arch & Hist, local and regional Hist, post-colonial Pol, citizenship, urban Soc

5. BEYOND THE DISCIPLINES:emerging inter-disciplinary themes • Environment & Sustainability: multi-disciplinary programmes with natural/geosciences drawing on C-SAP/HCA: UEA, Essex • Heritage & Conservation: programmes involving HCA with C-SAP, ecological sciences & pragmatic areas like Planning & Tourism: Birmingham, DICE Kent, St Martins Lancaster • Human Ecology: cultural and natural science aspects of Anth & Arch, linked with ecological sciences: ECI Oxford, UCL

6. FRUSTRATIONS: • Lack of space/time in UG curriculum • Regulation and organisation of teaching • Funding for inter-disciplinary research • Student preparedness for inter-disciplinary work • Professional boundaries and mutual isolation of disciplines • Administrative burdens of academic staff

7. FRUITFULNESS: • Many academics active across C-SAP/HCA disciplines • Encouraging range of activities within and across disciplines • Wide range of publications dealing with sustainability issues • Staff and student enthusiasm for inter-disciplinary work • Engagement with problem-solving ‘real-world’ pedagogies • Avenues for harnessing employability agenda • Various examples of successful initiatives in operation

8. FUTURE WORK: • Inter-disciplinary seminar series • CSR project with GEES/HLTS/C-SAP • Environmental History project on sites of analysis • Sustainability of Arch/Hist disciplines project • Multi-disciplinary materials development

9. OUR CONTRIBUTION TO ESD: HCA and C-SAP disciplines can provide students with: • understanding that sustainability is not a new issue • examples of sustainable and unsustainable practices • skills to investigate the structures and rhetorics of power • understanding of the constraints on sustainable practices • global perspective on the contexts and values for analysis • opportunity for distilling essential principles of analysis