Print Syllabus

Syllabus

P000075 Critical Plant Studies: Re-imaginings of vegetal life, 5.0 Credits

Subjects

Landscape Planning

Education cycle

Postgraduate level

Grading scale

Language

English

Prior knowledge

The course is open for PhD students who are interested in applying perspectives from the environmental humanities.

Objectives

To develop an understanding of critical plant studies, this course will provide lectures, literature seminars, and individual assignments, so that students will be able to:

1. Define and describe key concepts and theoretical perspectives in critical plant studies invoked by the five themes covered in the course;
   
2. Critically discuss and scrutinize literature and research within plant
   philosophy, plant behaviour and communication, plant ethics, and discuss the implications of concepts and narratives of plants in research and practice;
   
3. Reflect and report on how the main theories and ideas from three out of the five themes can be applied and operationalized in a particular topic/field of study (such as the student’s own field).

Content

Objectives
This course strives to provide students with cutting edge interdisciplinary perspectives on the philosophy of plants. By introducing the new field of ‘critical plant studies’, the purpose is to draw on philosophical and humanistic literature to explore, describe, and critically scrutinize new or re-imagined perspectives on plants that are emerging from the life sciences and humanities. A key outcome of the course is the opportunity for students to apply the various themes in relation to their specific field of research, and to investigate what these novel ideas mean for current paradigms of research and practice in environmental and landscape planning and governance.

Content
The theoretical perspectives of the course are structured into five themes of literature, namely: 1) Process philosophy and alternative histories of vegetal ontology; 2) New frontiers in the scientific understandings of plants, including plant communication and behaviour; 3) Indigenous and animist perspectives on plants; 4) The discursive power of concepts, symbols and narratives about plants
in society including invasive plants; and 5) Ethics for sentient plants.

The course will be held both web-based and on campus, and will consist of lectures and guest lectures with experts from the various themes, literature seminars, group discussions, student presentations, and individual written assignments. Active class participation, presentations and assignments are mandatory.

Formats and requirements for examination

The examination will be based on course participation, individual presentations, student peer review, and individual assignments. Besides participation in class, students will be examined through the following activities:
• Bibliography: Students participating must read the required course material and be prepared to discuss the materials during class.
• Prepare and submit a short (maximum 1000 word) individual written statement to introduce i) their disciplinary background ii) based on the initial readings, outline how they intend to engage with the themes of the course in relation to their research and iii) offer their expectations for the course. Students are expected to briefly present the contents of this paper to the class.
• Students will give a 10-minute presentation of their ideas for their final paper to the class in smaller groups
• Students will provide peer review and feedback of other students individual written statements and presentations
• Following class sessions and peer review, student must write an individual final assignment. This 2500-3000 word paper needs to cover references from at least three of the main themes covered in the course, and will be due 1 week after the completion of the course.

• If a student has failed an examination, the examiner has the right to issue supplementary assignments. This applies if it is possible and there are grounds to do so.

• The examiner can provide an adapted assessment to students entitled to study support for students with disabilities following a decision by the university. Examiners may also issue an adapted examination or provide an alternative way for the students to take the exam.

• If this syllabus is withdrawn, SLU may introduce transitional provisions for examining students admitted based on this syllabus and who have not yet passed the course.

• For the assessment of an independent project (degree project), the examiner may also allow a student to add supplemental information after the deadline for submission. Read more in the Education Planning and Administration Handbook.

Additional information

**Pedagogical form**

The course will run over three weeks (one week of preparation reading time) and consist of both distance-based and on site lectures and activities, for a total of 5 full days (20 hrs reading; 40 hrs class time; 40 hrs writing). The first week will consist of two full days of distance-based lectures and a literature seminar. The second week will consist of 3 full days on campus (Alnarp), with lectures, seminars, and student presentations. The student presentations will include student and instructor peer review and feedback, which will then be integrated for the final writing of the individual papers which are due one week after the course.

*Pre-seminar coursework*: Before participating in the seminar, students will undertake preparatory course work over a period of 1 week. This includes to:

• Read the outlined pre-course bibliography

• Prepare and submit a short (maximum 1000 word) statement to introduce i) their disciplinary background ii) based on the initial readings, outline how they intend to engage with the themes of the course in relation to their research and iii) offer their expectations for the course

Responsible department

Department of Landscape Architecture, Planning and Management