FHV341 Disability, Social Justice & Climate-Resilient Development

This course deals with factors that may be important for a more socially just, inclusive, and robust climate policy.

Climate disruption poses major risks to human health and livelihoods, in ways that are compounding and creating new forms of health inequality, particularly at the intersections of poverty, ethnicity, race, gender, age, disability and nationality. Disabled people - comprising 15% of the global population - are disproportionately exposed to such risks, experiencing higher mortality and morbidity during extreme weather events and fewer opportunities to participate in climate action. At the same time, disabled people also often possess invaluable insights into how to live with uncertainty, problem-solving in the face of the unexpected, and interdependence with society and the environment.

This module will include critical and cross-cultural perspectives, integrating students active learning activities to foreground the imperative - and key opportunities - to think with and through disabled difference in climate change scholarship, policy, and practice to inform more resilient, fair and inclusive climate change responses. We will explore how these perspectives help understand the ethical, political, and practical underpinnings of collective resilience and the societal choices through which climate resilient development and a liveable future for all can be advanced.

Key module content will include conceptualising disability, climate justice, eco-ableism and intersectionality; disability-inclusive climate mitigation, adaptation (importance of locally led adaptation context), migration and disaster-risk reduction; disability-inclusive climate governance and climate-resilient development.

Although hosted and administered independently by each institution, this course is taught collaboratively with expert colleagues at the University of Exeter (Senior Lecturer Dr. Sarah Bell) and Makerere University, Uganda (Prof David Mfitumukiza). The students will collaborate in groups across the three universities. This creates novel opportunities for interactive, cross-cultural student learning and collaboration. Students will choose within broad themes to work with in the cross-cultural groups, which will be presented in the first session. Aim for group sizes of at least 9 students (3 from each university). Guest lectures will be invited via collaborators and existing contacts of the team.

Acquired knowledge:

• After completing the course, the students must have acquired basic knowledge of theoretical perspectives that are relevant for climate-robust development, such as: different understandings of functional disabilities, social justice (including social benefits of climate effects, inclusive/exclusive decision-making processes, recognition of social and cultural differences and rights), eco-ableism and intersectionality, inclusive climate adaptation, migration, disaster risk reduction, and inclusive climate policy.

Acquired Skills:

• The students will be able to explain, using pertinent global examples, key political, economic, and social considerations for embedding disability and social justice in climate resilient development.

Acquired competence:

• After completion of the course the students will:
• Demonstrate critical appraisal of the contemporary theories and concepts that underpin disability, social justice, and climate resilient development.
• Critically analyse and reflect on how different socio-cultural contexts and individual experiences shape perspectives of - and responses to - varied facets of disability, social justice, and climate disruption.
• Be able to communicate key concepts and reflections clearly and competently in a range of formats.