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Module Number:
| 13923
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| Module Title: | Transformation Theories |
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Transformationstheorien
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| Department: |
Faculty 5 - Business, Law and Social Sciences
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| Responsible Staff Member: | -
Prof. Dr. phil. Jaeger-Erben, Melanie
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| Language of Teaching / Examination: | English |
| Duration: | 1 semester |
| Frequency of Offer: |
Every summer semester
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| Credits: |
6
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| Learning Outcome: | Upon successful completion, students will have profound knowledge of various theories of transformation and their origins. They engage in discussions and reflections on diverse theories, such as the theory of societal nature relations, social-ecological transformation, the great transformation, various collapse theories, and theories of real utopias and performative critique. They are able to contextualize these theories within the present time and engage in debates regarding pertinent evaluation criteria essential for transformations in the face of pressing crises, such as the climate catastrophe, biodiversity loss, and overexploitation of land. Furthermore, they comprehend the complexity of designing transformative solutions on a global scale and analyzing the different roles, including those of the state and niche actors. They can apply conceptual perspectives such as the multi-level perspective, the ecosystem approach or evolutionary innovation theory. |
| Contents: | Transformation theories are relatively young in the history of science. Thus far, theory formation has mainly been concerned with the reproduction of social order. In contrast, due to the accumulating crises of our time, the scientific community is now called upon to further explore transformation and engage in theory building. This module aims to introduce students to existing transformation theories and discuss various approaches, for example, the differentiation of theories into transformation "by design" (as seen in the multi-level perspective or intervention approaches); "by disaster" (as in collapse theories); and transformation through real utopias and performative critique. In particular, the module emphasizes questions surrounding how transformations can be reflected, made accessible, justified, narrated or critiqued. |
| Recommended Prerequisites: | Knowledge of the contents of module
- 13922 Introduction to Transformation Studies
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| Mandatory Prerequisites: | None |
| Forms of Teaching and Proportion: | -
Lecture
/ 2 Hours per Week per Semester
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Seminar
/ 2 Hours per Week per Semester
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Self organised studies
/ 120 Hours
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| Teaching Materials and Literature: | - Feola, G. Societal transformation in response to global environmental change: A review of emerging concepts. Ambio 44, 376–390 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13280-014-0582-z
- S.E. Park, N.A. Marshall, E. Jakku, A.M. Dowd, S.M. Howden, E. Mendham, A. Fleming, Informing adaptation responses to climate change through theories of transformation, Global Environmental Change, Volume 22, Issue 1, 115-126,
- Brand, U. (2016) “Transformation” as a new critical orthodoxy. The strategic use of the term “transformation” does not prevent multiple crises. Gaia 25(1): 23–27.
- Persson, L., Carney Almroth, C. D. Collins, S. Cornell, C. de Wit, M. Diamond, P. Fantke, M. Hassellöv, M. MacLeod, M. Ryberg, P. Søgaard Jørgensen, P. Villarrubia-Gómez, Z. Wang, und M. Hauschild. 2022. Outside the safe operating space of the planetary boundary for novel entities. Environmental Science & Technology 56(3): 1510–1521.
- Polanyi, K. (1944). The Great Transformation. Frankfurt a. M.: Suhrkamp.
- Wright, E. O. (2017) Real Utopias. Sage
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| Module Examination: | Continuous Assessment (MCA) |
| Assessment Mode for Module Examination: | - comparative theory essay, 5000 words, (40%)
- 3 protocols of a theory reading circle, 1500 words each, (20% each).
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| Evaluation of Module Examination: | Performance Verification – graded |
| Limited Number of Participants: | None |
| Part of the Study Programme: | -
Master (research-oriented) /
Transformation Studies /
PO 2024
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| Remarks: | None |
| Module Components: | - 510550 Transformation Theories (Vorlesung/ Seminar)
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| Components to be offered in the Current Semester: | |
