Inside and Out: Universities and Education for Sustainable Development (Work, Health, And Environment Series) - Hardcover

Forrant, Robert; Silka, Linda

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0895033615 ISBN 13: 9780895033611

Verlag: Routledge, 2006

Inhaltsangabe

Based on research and projects in the field, the perspective of this book is that long-term, sustainable social and economic development requires strategies geared to the scientific, technical, cultural, and environmental aspects of development. The chapters illustrate the different ways in which universities pursue education for sustainability.

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Robert Forrant, Linda Silka

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INSIDE AND OUT

Universities and Education for Sustainable Development

Baywood Publishing Company, Inc.

Copyright © 2006 Baywood Publishing Company, Inc.
All right reserved.
ISBN: 978-0-89503-361-1

Contents

Introduction: Inside and Out-What's It All About? Robert Forrant and Linda Silka....................................................................................................................1Section One: University Space1. Can Universities Contribute to Sustainable Development? Stephen Viederman........................................................................................................................172. Education for a Transition to Sustainability Kenneth Geiser......................................................................................................................................293. Beyond Disciplines: Integrating Academia, Operations, and Community for Campuswide Education for Sustainability Robert Koester, James Eflin, and John Vann.......................................414. The Role of the Humanities and Social Sciences in Education for Sustainable Development Daniel Egan, Vanessa Gray, Whitley Kaufman, and Chad Montrie.............................................635. Teaching Sustainability: The Case of the Incredible Shrinking Professor Elisabeth M. Hamin.......................................................................................................796. Strategies Used to Embed Concepts of Sustainable Development in the Curriculum Linda L. Lowry and Judy K. Flohr..................................................................................87Section two: The Regional and Global Fabric7. Building Sustainable Community/University Partnerships in a Metropolitan Setting Alan Bloomgarden, Mary Bombardier, Myrna M. Breitbart, Kiara Nagel, and Preston H. Smith II.....................1058. Education for Sustainability: Preserve Good Ideas-Recycle Them Linda Silka, Priscilla Geigis, and Will Snyder....................................................................................1199. Merging Academics and Operations in a Statewide University Consortium Patricia Jerman, Christy Friend, Corinna McLeod, Summer Smith Taylor, and Bruce Coull......................................13510. Teaching Sustainability and Professional Ethics: Production and Values In and Outside the Work Place William Mass...............................................................................149Contributors.........................................................................................................................................................................................169Index................................................................................................................................................................................................175

Chapter One

Can Universities Contribute to Sustainable Development?

Stephen Viederman

The obscure takes a while to see, the obvious, longer. -Anonymous

Going to a conference away from home is an exercise in unsustainability. The trip to and from the airport usually requires a car or taxi ride, single occupancy. The flight contributes to global warming and is a microcosm of class structure: first, business, and economy. The crowded highways traversed are multilane, having devoured green space and fertile farmland. Often they are lined with factories or the headquarters of corporations responsible for the manufacturing of the "excessities" that symbolize our modern age and the billboards that urge us to buy more. And these excessities are unequally distributed. The highways to and from the airport are often bordered with urban blight. The occupants of these neighborhoods suffer noise, air pollution, and other social ills not found in the suburbs. This view of the landscape often goes unnoticed because of its familiarity and because the traveler's thoughts are elsewhere. This view of the world is not what we want for our children, our grandchildren, and ourselves.

This chapter addresses a necessary process for envisioning a sustainable future and presents a brief overview of the meaning of the terms sustainability and sustainable development going well beyond the conventional focus on the environment. It looks at the structure of the institutional setting and particularly the control of disciplines, and departments, and related matters. In addition, constraints affecting knowledge generation for policy needs are addressed, focusing particularly on the different questions and time frames that both the policymakers and the general public place on research. The chapter notes the failure of most institutions to look systematically at their own footprint on sustainability, whether it be in the form of the impacts of their investments, their labor practices, their procurement, their relationship to the communities in which they are located, and the like, and ends with some suggestions about what might come next.

VISION

A vision of a sustainable society is necessary to challenge all institutions in society to create the circumstances that will lead to changes in the institutions themselves and in the society as a whole. Envisioning clarifies goals and the processes of change that are needed. The emphasis on a vision of a desired future is essential because it forces a comparison of an ideal state with the situation that currently prevails or would likely occur if present trends continued with little or no societal intervention. Envisioning a sustainable society is a process with a beginning and no end because new circumstances will continually arise that require attention. The challenge of the process is to create better conditions for ourselves while ensuring that we leave options open for future generations to make the changes they envision as necessary.

Envisioning a sustainable society requires new approaches to understanding and creating change that is systemic and structural, rather than ameliorative. It requires the involvement of a range of people: individuals, groups, and communities that are usually not invited to sit at the decision-making table. It requires a broader democratic and participatory "we" than is often the case. Envisioning is a process for clarifying values, helping to create a deeper understanding of who we are, and at the same time, what we want to be, and what we want to facilitate for the benefit of future generations. Envisioning challenges the acceptance of attainable goals as ends in themselves, forcing formulation of goals that are just and needed, even though at any given point in the process they seem unattainable. The concept of acceptable risk as a part of the process, for example, raises a number of questions: Acceptable to whom?" "Decided upon by whom?" and "With what consequences for whom?" Acceptability is usually predicated on the opinion of external "expertise," often with conflict among those "experts," and decision making without consultation with those who are most affected by the risk. Citizens are therefore at the mercy of experts, diminishing their own power to control their communities.

Envisioning is proactive, not a passive acceptance of the present situation. Focusing on root causes of unsustainability rather than just symptoms creates opportunities to plan new courses of action more effectively, thereby avoiding being victims of fate. It...

Details zur Ausgabe

• Verlag: Routledge
• Erscheinungsdatum: 2006
• Sprache: Englisch
• ISBN 10: 0895033615
• ISBN 13: 9780895033611
• Einband: Gebundene Ausgabe
• Anzahl der Seiten: 182
• Kontakt zum Hersteller: preigu GmbH & Co. KG; mail@preigu.de; ; Lengericher Landstr. 19; Osnabrück; Niedersachsen; 49078; Deutschland