Human Geographies of Adaptation to Climate Change

The objective of the course is to provide students an overview of research on adaptation to climate change, with a focus on human geography scholarship.

The course is organised around nine thematic sessions:

• introduction to the course, and key concepts in climate change adaptation
• overview of adaptation research: what do we know and don't know about adaptation?
• adaptation policy and planning: how do we manage adaptation, and how good are we at it?
• uncertainty in adaptation: what is knowable in adaptation, and what are the implications of not being able to know as much as we would like to?
• maladaptation: under what circumstances does adaptation go wrong, and what can be done to prevent it?
• transformational adaptation: what is the difference (and is there one?) between "incremental" and "transformational" adaptation?
• adaptation justice: how do we define and make operational the notion of "justice in adaptation"?
• limits to climate change adaptation: what are "limits" to climate change adaptation, and how do we manage them?
• Loss and damage: what is the difference between adaptation and "loss and damage", and between "economic" and "non-economic" loss and damage?

Except for the first session, irrespective of the theme concerned each session is organised around the same four elements. First, an introduction to the key concepts for the theme. Second, an overview of the state of the art. Third, a human geography perspective on the theme. Fourth, students write a very short essay based on a question provided by the lecturers (see "Compulsory Assignments and Attendance" below).

A student who has completed the course should have the following learning outcomes:

Knowledge

The student

• has a thorough understanding of central theoretical concepts and research methods pertinent to adaptation to climate change
• is able to establish connections between issues in climate change adaptation and societal conditions such as marginalisation, technological advancement, and urbanisation.

Skills

The student can

• suggest suitable adaptation actions across a range of typical climate risks; 
• identify enablers of, and barriers to, a range of typical adaptation actions, with a focus on human geography-related enablers and barriers; and
• estimate the relative importance of human geography-related versus other factors in adaptation, across a range of typical situations.

General competence

The student can

• engage with debates on adaptation to climate change;
• independently situate adaptation in the broader context of other socio-economic and cultural developments; and
• plan a research study centred on adaptation to climate change, whether in the Global North or the Global South.