Tackling Wicked Problems in Society & the Environment. 3 credits

Catalog description

Many of our most pressing social and environmental issues today fall into the category of “wicked problems”. Characterized by complexity, uncertainty, and divergence of human values and viewpoints, wicked problems are prone to becoming mired in controversy and failures of governance. To understand the nature of these problems, we must understand the systems from which they arise and their dynamics. This course in human dimensions of the environment takes a problem-based learning approach and introduces foundational literatures on wicked problems, systems thinking, and collective governance. Students analyze current policy issues and make recommendations to decision-makers on issues such as conservation, artificial intelligence (AI), data centers, and energy. Offered by Environmental Science & Policy . Limited to three attempts.