Sustainability Policy and Practice, New Jersey Institute of Technology, since 2012
- Program: Bachelor’s of Architecture degree; Minor in Environmental and Sustainability Studies
- Lecturer: Maurie Cohen
- Class size: 15 students
- Duration: offered over one semester.
- Focus: Taking as a starting point the Anthropocene and planetary boundaries, the course offers an introduction to popular and current strategies towards sustainability, such as the sharing economy, the maker movement and do it yourself production, economic delocalization, digital automation, and sustainability in the post-work, post-consumer society. Students consider how social change can lead to a more sustainable future, as explored through course materials, guest lectures, and presentations based on individual student projects.
- Student evaluation: Class attendance (20%) and participation (30%); a research project (50% overall; constituent parts–preliminary presentation (10%), final presentation (15%), project report (25%)). For the research project, students are asked to choose a topic related to course material, then either explore a particular initiative in more depth should identify a particular initiative that you will study in depth (including interviews with key proponents) or compare 2-3 social innovations.
- Course evaluation: students appreciate the quality of course content and the overall educational value.
