Capitalism, Growth, and Ecological Crisis (L4117B)

15 credits, Level 6

Spring teaching

There is a contradiction between the insatiable demands of a capitalist economy and the finite limits of ecological systems.

On this module, you’ll explore these contradictions and the ways they’re tied to questions of cultural value, social justice and political practice. Topics include:

  • economic growth, seen as a big part of a healthy economy and society
  • the roots of attitudes about economic growth
  • if economic growth is sustainable in a rapidly worsening ecological crises
  • possible alternatives to the growth paradigm and the political economy it supports
  • different types of ‘green growth’ such as the popular but controversial ‘degrowth’
  • different approaches to the relationship between society, nature and eco-politics
  • Marxist, feminist, decolonial and social movement literatures
  • the relationship between theory and practice
  • how the causes of ecological crisis impact political values, and vice versa
  • what this means for us in our own daily lives, existential commitments and future projects.

Teaching

100%: Seminar

Assessment

100%: Written assessment (Essay)

Contact hours and workload

This module is approximately 150 hours of work. This breaks down into about 22 hours of contact time and about 128 hours of independent study. The University may make minor variations to the contact hours for operational reasons, including timetabling requirements.

We regularly review our modules to incorporate student feedback, staff expertise, as well as the latest research and teaching methodology. We’re planning to run these modules in the academic year 2026/27. However, there may be changes to these modules in response to feedback, staff availability, student demand or updates to our curriculum.

We’ll make sure to let you know of any material changes to modules at the earliest opportunity.

Courses

This module is offered on the following courses: