POSC 384 - Climate Politics & Policy: The US, CA & the Bay

Units: 3 ; Breadth Area: GE-UD-4; Sustainability
Climate change politics and policy at the national, state, Bay Area, and community levels. Covers legislative, executive, and judicial branches; federalism; regional collaboration; climate justice, advocacy, and activism

Breadth Area(s) Satisfied: GE-UD-4 - Upper Division Social and Behavioral Sciences, Overlay - Sustainability
Prerequisites: Completion of GE Areas 1A, 1B, 1C and GE-2 with grade C- (CR) or better (GE Areas A1, A2, A3 and B4 for students on the 2024-25 or earlier catalogs).
Strongly Recommended Preparation: Upper division status (greater than 60 earned semester units) and completion of lower division GE Area 4 requirements (Area D1-2 requirements for students on the 2024-25 or earlier catalogs).
Possible Instructional Methods: On-ground.
Grading: A-F grading only.
Course Typically Offered: Fall Alternate Years

Student Learning Outcomes - Upon successful completion of this course students will be able to:

Describe and evaluate the complexities, uncertainties, and injustices of a changing climate on socio-political, economic, and environmental systems
Discuss key policies at the local, regional, state, and national level including how they came into existence
Summarize and evaluate the position and experiences of key actors (government actor, non-profit, etc.) in the climate struggle, including obstacles and successes
Argue for and defend strategies for successfully addressing climate change

GE-UD-4. Upper-division Social and Behavioral Sciences Learning Outcomes

analyze how power and social identity affect social outcomes for different cultural and economic groups using methods of social science inquiry and vocabulary appropriate to those methods;
demonstrate an understanding of and ability to apply accurately disciplinary concepts of the social or behavioral sciences; and
demonstrate an understanding of and ability to effectively plan or conduct research using an appropriate method of the social or behavioral sciences.

Sustainability Overlay Learning Outcomes

Discuss multiple dimensions of sustainability, including the scientific, social, cultural, and/or economic.
Analyze interactions between human activities and natural systems.
Describe strategies taken by individuals, communities, organizations, or governments for mitigating and/or adapting to key threats to environmental sustainability.