wir950 - Research Workshop: Dilemmas of Sustainability (Complete module description)

None

The students …

• have a thematic overview of the state of research in the field of dilemmas of sustainability.
• can conceptualize, plan and organize a research project on dilemmas of sustainability.
• can define a scientifically relevant baseline (research) problem, derive a research question from it and develop a suitable research design.
• can apply basic moderation and organizational skills that are helpful for a research project.
• gain skills for scientific work at an advanced level.

Solving the complex ecological and social challenges of our time requires complex scientific approaches. This is the field in which research on sustainable development operates. Due to the diversity of problems, this type of research is particularly oriented towards thinking beyond purely delimited scientific disciplines. Research on sustainable development has to interlink different fields of thought and disciplines in an interdisciplinary manner and involve social actors in research processes in a transdisciplinary sense. The complexity of such projects, however, is often a source of tension, since the plurality of forms of knowledge, opinions and objectives involved can quickly lead to a loss of clarity in what is understood by sustainable development, or even to contradictions. This can lead to dilemmas, which can challenge those involved with seemingly unsolvable problems. What exactly these dilemmas of sustainability can look like, how they arise and how they can be dealt with in the context of research projects is the focus of the scientific examination in this module.

Augenstein, K.; Bachmann, B.; Egermann, M.; Hermelingmeier, V.; Hilger, A.; Jaeger-Erben, M.; Kessler, A.; Lam, D.P.M.; Palzkill, A.; Suski, P.; von Wirth, T. (2020). From niche to mainstream: the dilemmas of scaling up sustainable alternatives. GAIA - Ecological Perspectives for Science and Society 29 (3): p. 143- 147.

Bocken, N. M., & Short, S. W. (2021). Unsustainable business models– Recognising and resolving institutionalised social and environmental harm. Journal of Cleaner Production, 312, 127828.

Gottschlich, D.; Katz, C. (2016). Sozial-ökologische Transformation braucht Kritik an den gesellschaftlichen Naturverhältnissen. Zur notwendigen Verankerung von Nachhaltigkeitsforschung in feministischer Theorie und Praxis. Soziologie und Nachhaltigkeit – Beiträge zur sozial-ökologischen Transformationsforschung 3 (2. year).

Nölting, B.; Voß, J.-P.; Hayn, D. (2004). Nachhaltigkeitsforschung–jenseits von Disziplinierung und anything goes. GAIA-Ecological Perspectives for Science and Society 13 (4): p. 254-261.

1 term paper or 1 presentation or 1 portfolio or 1 project report