HEN633 Studying Local Rural Systems

Faculty of Social Studies
Spring 2019
Extent and Intensity
0/2/0. 5 credit(s). Type of Completion: z (credit).
Teacher(s)
Mgr. Eva Fraňková, Ph.D. (lecturer)
Dipl. Ing. Willi Haas (lecturer), doc. Mgr. Bohuslav Binka, Ph.D. (deputy)
Dr. Simron Jit Singh (lecturer), doc. Mgr. Bohuslav Binka, Ph.D. (deputy)
Guaranteed by
doc. Mgr. Bohuslav Binka, Ph.D.
Department of Environmental Studies – Faculty of Social Studies
Contact Person: Ing. Veronika Išová
Supplier department: Department of Environmental Studies – Faculty of Social Studies
Prerequisites
upper-intermediate English language skills
Course Enrolment Limitations
The course is only offered to the students of the study fields the course is directly associated with.

The capacity limit for the course is 5 student(s).
Current registration and enrolment status: enrolled: 0/5, only registered: 0/5
fields of study / plans the course is directly associated with
Course objectives
The course aims to provide insights and methodological training in studying local communities through the use of anthropological and social ecological field methods, and interpret the results within the framework of sustainability and development studies. Taking a systems perspective, the students are encouraged to look at rural systems as coupled socio-ecological systems (SES) with material, energy, land, labour and technology as relevant variables.
Syllabus
  • During the first week of the spring semester there will be an information meeting for all the students registered for the course. It takes place on Tuesday, February 19th at 15:00 in room no.370 (3rd floor). Even if there are more than 5 students registered in the course - if you are interested in the course, please do come up to this initial meeting - usually some people drop off once the full course information is provided and the dates are settled so you might get a chance.
  • The course itself begins with a one day pre-seminar in March or April (exact date will be settled) with Willi Haas, one of the professors from vienna. A basic overview of the theoretical and operational framework of social ecology and societal metabolism is provided. This pre-seminar is organized via Skype.
  • The actual seminar takes place as a 5-day block in May (13th - 17th) in a culturally challenging environment of Třeboňsko (Františkov village, near Třeboň, Czech Republic) where further inputs are given and actual field work is undertaken. Here we learn and experience how to establish contact, build rapport and interact in a culturally sensitive way. We also learn to design innovative field methods of generating data that provides relevant information on the functioning of local rural systems such as material and energy flows, time use, land-use, and to estimate quantities of society’s stocks such as population, livestock, land, and artefacts. The seminar concludes with reflection on our experiences and results, and makes an attempt to interpret them within the framework of sustainability and development interventions.
  • Main topics: • Material and energy flow analysis • Land use • Functional time use analysis • Institutional aspects
Literature
    required literature
  • • Singh, S.J. et al. (2010) Local studies manual. A researcher’s guide for investigating the social metabolism of local rural systems. Social Ecology Working Paper, Vienna. Available at http://www.uni-klu.ac.at/socec/downloads/WP120_Web.pdf (10.2.2013)
  • • 3 – 5 shorter scientific articles on social metabolism, land use, Třeboňsko Biosphere reserve, small-scale farming etc., will be specified and provided in March
Teaching methods
Interactive block seminar: inputs, role plays, field work, analysis and writing in small groups. The course is designed for students interested in human-environment relations, anthropological and socio-ecological field methods, local sustainability and development paradigms from backgrounds such as sociology, anthropology, ecology, international development and related disciplines.
Assessment methods
Participation during the entire seminar (including the pre-seminar), writing a reaction paper based on reading of the prescribed literature, active participation in the field work, brief presentation of results and writing a short assignment in groups on the outcome and analysis of the field research.
Language of instruction
English
Further comments (probably available only in Czech)
Study Materials
The course is taught annually.
The course is taught: in blocks.
Information on course enrolment limitations: Předmět je určen pouze studentům mateřských oborů.
Teacher's information
The course schedule details:

information meeting in the first week of the semester (Tuesday 18th of February, at 15:00 in room no. 370 at FSS)

1-day theoretical pre-seminar (exact date will be announced later)

5-day field course in South Bohemia (Třeboňsko): 13.-17. May 2019

The course is organized by the Institute of Social Ecology (Vienna) in collaboration with the University of South Bohemia and Masaryk University, Brno. The number of students is limited to 15 participants from Austria, 5 from University of South Bohemia and 5 from Masaryk University.

The field part of the course will take place in the village of Františkov.

The students are supposed to cover all the costs related to the course (traveling, accommodation and meal expenses, approx. 2000 CZK) by themselves. Students of the Department of Environmental Studies can apply for small department and faculty grants to cover these costs, but these are not guaranteed in advance.

The course is also listed under the following terms Spring 2013, Spring 2014, Spring 2015, Spring 2016, Spring 2018.
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