This course delves into the complex nature of the global sustainability context. It fosters a polycontextual understanding of the historical, political, economic, and cultural forces that shape the diverse global sustainability landscape, whilst exploring the universal and interconnected nature of grand challenges and wicked problems. Students will engage with global governance frameworks like the SDGs, analyse the evolving regulatory landscape, and will apply systems thinking to issues such as climate change, human rights, migration, and modern slavery. Through simulations, role-plays, and interactive learning, the course fosters critical, interdisciplinary, and context-sensitive approaches to sustainability.
Topics/issues covered:

• Grand challenges and wicked problems, global interconnectedness, and context

• Complexity and complex systems

• Cultural and institutional differences

• Global governance and institutions

• Evolving regulatory landscape

• Deep dives into critical global sustainability issues (e.g., climate change, human rights, modern slavery, migration)

After this course students will be able to:

• Critically evaluate the global interconnectedness of sustainability challenges and the evolution of frameworks such as the SDGs, identifying their interdependencies, systemic drivers, and obstacles.

• Apply systems thinking and complexity theory to analyze sustainability issues, being aware of feedback loops, trade-offs, and emergent dynamics across global and local scales.

• Assess regional and contextual differences (e.g., Global North vs. South, colonial linkages) in sustainability challenges and responses, incorporating polycontextual (e.g., institutional, cultural, legal, economic, historic, etc.) analyses.

• Analyze the roles and effectiveness of global governance and supranational institutions (e.g., UN, UNGC, Human Rights Council) in promoting sustainable development and accountability.

• Interpret the evolving sustainability regulatory landscape, including mandatory and voluntary frameworks, and their implications for various sectors and stakeholders.

• Reflect on and integrate knowledge from multiple disciplines to derive context-sensitive solutions to wicked problems, such as climate change, human rights, modern slavery, or migration.

• Design and communicate context-sensitive, evidence-based arguments and strategies for addressing global sustainability challenges, tailored to different audiences and institutional settings.

• Reflective essay on a wicked problem – 40% (individual)

• Role-play simulation – 40% (group)

• Participation (classroom activities) – 20% (individual)