IB ENVIRONMENTAL SYSTEMS AND SOCIETIES SL—HOME
NATURE OF THE SUBJECT
The prime intent is to provide students with a coherent perspective of the interrelationships between environmental systems and societies; one that enables them to adopt an informed personal response to the wide range of pressing environmental issues that they will inevitably come to face. Students’ attention can be constantly drawn to their own relationship with their environment and the significance of choices and decisions that they make in their own lives.
It is intended that students develop a sound understanding of the interrelationships between environmental systems and societies, rather than a purely journalistic appreciation of environmental issues. The teaching approach therefore needs to be conducive to students evaluating the scientific, ethical and socio-political aspects of issues.
INTERNATIONAL DIMENSION
We all live on one planet Earth, yet use much more than one planet Earth’s worth of resources. This is obviously not sustainable and this course attempts to discuss the issues surrounding resource use at various scales.
TRANSDISCIPLINARY DIMENSION
The systems approach itself, which is employed throughout the syllabus, is essentially holistic rather than reductionist. As a transdisciplinary subject, the material addressed frequently lies astride the interface of what are perceived as clear subject boundaries. In exploring and understanding an environmental issue, one must be able to integrate the hard, scientific, quantitative “facts” with the qualitative value judgments of politics, sociology and ethics.