SOCL20077 Theories and Concepts of Sustainable Development

Sustainability has become part of a dominant discourse relating to environmental security and 'balanced' development. Yet, the meaning of sustainability is based upon particular assumptions about what is to be 'sustained', by whom, for whom, in what location, and over what time period. This course traces contributions to the sustainability debate and locates existing arguments about sustainability within competing social discourses. It traces how power and knowledge in society shape the ways sustainability is understood and practiced.