| WEEK # | TOPICS |
|---|---|
| Part I. Content and Context | |
| 1 | Introduction: Debates, Definitions and Dilemmas |
| 2 | Evolving Conceptions - Causes and Consequences |
| 3 | Sustainability as a 'Knowledge Domain' |
| 4 | New Thinking and the Knowledge Economy |
| Part II. Actors, Processes and Institutions | |
| 5 | Critical Drivers, Social Mechanisms and Cognitive Factors |
| 6 | Economic Performance - Production and Consumption |
| 7 | Firms and Markets - Corporate Perspectives |
| 8 | From Sustainability 'Problems' to 'Solution' Strategies |
| 9 | Regulatory and Policy Contexts |
| Part III. Strategic Approaches to Sustainability | |
| 10 | New International Institutional Contexts |
| 11 | International Trade and Intellectual Property Rights |
| 12 | Global Accord - Next Rounds |
Table of Contents
Syllabus
Syllabus
 When you click the Amazon logo to the left of any citation and purchase the book (or other media) from Amazon.com, MIT OpenCourseWare will receive up to 10% of this purchase and any other purchases you make during that visit. This will not increase the cost of your purchase. Links provided are to the US Amazon site, but you can also support OCW through Amazon sites in other regions. Learn more. |
Overview
This course examines alternative conceptions and theoretical underpinnings of the notion of "sustainable development." It focuses on the sustainability problems of industrial countries (i.e., aging of populations, sustainable consumption, institutional adjustments, etc.); and of developing states and economies in transition (i.e., managing growth, sustainability of production patterns, pressures of population change, etc.). It also explores the sociology of knowledge around sustainability, the economic and technological dimensions and institutional imperatives along with implications for political constitution of economic performance.
17.181 fulfills the undergraduate public policy requirement in the major and minor. Graduate students are expected to explore the subject in greater depth through reading and individual research (17.182).
Required Books
Choucri, Nazli. Global Accord: Environmental Challenges and International Responses. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 1995. ISBN: 9780262531344.
Becker, Egon, and Thomas Jahn, eds. Sustainability and the Social Sciences: A Cross-Disciplinary Approach to Integrating Environmental Considerations into Theoretical Reorientation. London, UK: Zed Books, 2000. ISBN: 9781856497084.
Stavins, Robert N. Economics of the Environment. 4th ed. New York, NY: W.W. Norton and Company, 2000. ISBN: 9780393975239.
Tainter, Joseph A. The Collapse of Complex Societies. New York, NY: Cambridge University Press, 1988. ISBN: 9780521340922.
Web Site on Sustainable Development
Global System for Sustainable Development
Calendar