Human disruption of the climate is one of the most important issues confronting the planet. Climate impacts are having profound social, political, economic, and environmental consequences, forcing us to think carefully about every dimension of our lives – from individual decisions on what and how to consume, and community actions on adapting to a changing world, to local, national and global politics, policies and laws. This paper provides an understanding of the deep-rooted causes, consequences and competing solutions of climate change. It does so through an interdisciplinary lens that spans Indigenous and feminist studies, political science, public policy, sociology, and security studies. The paper offers students the opportunity to reflect on the differential impacts of climate change, issues of climate justice, insights into the meaning of sustainable citizenship, and pathways for climate action in the context of a democratic society. The primary objective of this paper is to provide students with critical social science research and analytical tools to understand the multifaceted nature of climate change.

The goals of the paper are for students from across multiple disciplines to sharpen critical thinking skills and improve their ability to write and speak well, while gaining a broad understanding of how the climate crisis implicates every aspect of our society, politics, policy, democracy and governance.

The paper will involve Moodle-based reading and the completion of online lessons, along with tutorials, class discussions written assessments and oral presentations.

You should sign up for one of the three weekly tutorial times using My Papers ‘Event Activity Signup’ in iWaikato for this paper. Tutorials start in Week 1 of the semester. To access Moodle you will need to log onto iWaikato and follow the link under ‘Key Links’, or go to elearn.waikato.ac.nz.