“Geographies of Sustainable Consumption”, National University of Ireland, Galway (since 2010)

• Lecturer: Frances Fahy
• Program: BA in Geography
• Duration: one semester, 5 ECTS, 90-110 students, runs annually unless the lecturer is on sabbatical
• Focus: Relationship between consumption, society, and environment planning; relate consumption behaviours to different factors (i.e., environmental, technological, economic, social and political processes), engage in current debates. Different skills are also emphasized, such as critical thinking, effective communication, use of online discussion tools, etc. Students are invited to attend conferences; guest speakers, usually practitioners from the region.
• Novel approach: supported by Blackboard, used for online discussions and to post clips and Ted type lectures.
• Student evaluation: one 2hr exam (50%) on key themes, seminar assignments and participation (20%) and essay/report approx. 1,500 words (30%).
• Course evaluation: very popular course, regularly large attendance.
• Reading list: available.
• Future plans: integrate new textbook as key reading material: Davies, A., Fahy, F. and Rau, H. (eds.) (2014) Challenging Consumption.
• Special requests: develop a database of SC teaching resources, including case study material, field trip manual and student worksheets, sample scenarios for problem centred sessions.