The Earth System Governance Project is glad to inform about the first university course completely dedicated to earth system governance and the Earth System Governance Project.

This BA level course “Earth System Governance” will be held by Prof. Robert V. Bartlett during the spring semester 2012 at the University of Vermont.

Earth system governance as a research object is quickly emerging, and as a consequence, the number of academic programmes on bachelor, master and doctoral level related to earth system governance steadily increases. The project also organizes, endorses and provides teaching to summer schools and capacity building events and programmes.

An overview of teaching and capacity building by the Earth System Governance Project is available at www.earthsystemgovernance.org/teaching

The course at the University of Vermont will involve a cutting-edge exploration of earth system governance as a new and exciting research perspective. Early in the semester students will read about and analyze concepts of governance in general and environmental governance more particularly. Then the course will explore the ideas undergirding the international collaborative effort organized as the Earth System Governance Project. Further readings will come from work already produced by researchers contributing to the Project, including papers presented at past conferences in Amsterdam, Berlin, and Fort Collins, Colorado and papers being presented at the Lund Conference on Earth System Governance in April 2012. Over the semester, students will develop their own research projects, in stages, about some aspect of earth system governance, and this work will be shared regularly with the class. The course aims at becoming a student directed, student driven, engaged-student learning experience.