← Back to course website “Actors and Strategies for Change – Towards Global Sustainabilities”

Here you can find the weekly readings that you need to prepare BEFORE we meet in class. Read and watch all the articles, book excerpts and videos that you can find under “Mandatory Reading/Watching” and keep the guiding questions for each week in mind. You should think about the questions on your own, as they serve as the basis for discussions in your reading groups and in class. Under “Further Reading”, you can find other material that you can dig into, if you are interested in the topic.

January 15th: Course Introduction

Guiding Questions you should be able to answer to yourself after this session:
How does this course work? Have I read all the information provided in the welcome letter, course information folder and ‘How to ASC’ file?
Do I know how I will be examined and what I need to do weekly?
How can I obtain the course book?

Mandatory Reading/Watching:

Further Reading/Watching/Tasks:

In case you haven’t yet: read the course information folder and ‘How to ASC’ guide, familiarise yourself with the course schedule and examination schedule and plan ahead your semester, make sure you have access to Studentportalen and learn your way around this course website.

Jan 22nd: Alan AtKisson

Padlet#1: for infos on and questions for Alan (will be made available to him Friday, January 19th)

Padlet#2: for news on sustainability and different actors (contribute by Jan 22nd, 17pm the latest)

Guiding Questions: What is ‘sustainable development’? How can it be understood in different ways and potentially lead to disagreements? What is the status of sustainable development in your country and how is it connected to other issues, for example development?

Mandatory Reading/Watching:

Resilience Thinking meets Social Theory – Muriel Cote & Andrea Nightingale

Introduction to Sustainable Development Goals

Change Theory of the Week: The Amoeba of Cultural Change

Further Reading/Watching:

A social turn for resilience – Katrina Brown

Alan AtKisson Profile

Jan 29th: Wanjiku Kaime Atterhög

Padlet#1: for infos on and questions for Wanjiku (will be made available to her Friday, January 26th)

Padlet#2: for news on poverty, unemployment and crime and different actors associated to that (contribute by Jan 29th, 17pm the latest)

Guiding Questions: Wanjiku would like to engage you in discussion on children living in poverty and on the margins (in particular those who live and work on the streets and those caught up in the sex industry), from causes to intervening factors to sustainable solutions to make them citizens.

Mandatory Reading/Watching:

1. The context in Africa comprises Wanjiku’s PhD thesis and the following two videos – one on the school in Uganda and one on the caregivers she has trained there (there are 13 similar groups globally)

Wanjiku Kaime Atterhög: From Children of the Garbage Bins to Citizens (make sure to understand the main points here)

The following website is also a source of good information on her work in Africa: www.houseofplenty.se

2. The context in Sweden – this is not documented very much in writing yet (she has two students currently working on those articles) but Bonafolkhögskola filmed the work she was involved in (only available in Swedish):

Change Theory of the Week: The Social Innovation Model HOPE

Further Reading/Watching:

An article which describes the journey Wanjiku has taken to bring about the change we will discuss, that compliments her thesis (in Swedish only).

Sudhinaraset M, Ingram M, Lofthouse HK, Montagu D (2013): What Is the Role of Informal Healthcare Providers in developing countries. A systematic review. PLoS ONE 8(2): e54978. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0054978

Feb 5th: Teresa Anderson

Padlet#1: for infos on and questions for Teresa (will be made available to her Friday, February 2nd)

Padlet#2: for news on negotiating compassion on the global stage and different actors associated to that (contribute by Feb 5th, 17pm the latest)

Guiding Questions: Teresa would like to discuss how NGOs have a range of strategies available to them to influence negotiations, shift narratives and change the game in the UNFCCC. She would also like to talk about how they can work to further their own organisational analysis and agenda. And for many (including ActionAid) the theory of change includes joining together with other groups to articulate broader/ big issue agendas.

Mandatory Reading/Watching:

Inclusion without Influence – NGOs in European Trade Policy

The Power of Strategy – Environmental NGO Influence in International Climate Negotiations
Fair Shares: A Civil Society Equity Review of INDCs – November 2015 (Note: You don’t need to read the entire report in detail to get the gist of how it was used)

Change Theory of the week: How Change Happens (Part 1 for this week, pp. 4-29)

Further Reading/Watching:

Influence of NGO diplomats in int. negotiations

The Climate Equity Reference Calculator

Feb 12th: Brian Palmer

Padlet#1: for infos on and questions for Brian (will be made available to him Friday, February 9th)

Padlet#2: for news on civic courage and existential risk in a time of uncertainty and different actors associated to that (contribute by Feb 12th, 17pm the latest)

Guiding Questions: Why do you think civic courage is important in regards to social change? How do individual actions relate to societal actions and large-scale changes?

Mandatory Reading/Watching:

Staub, E. (in press). From heroic rescue to resistance in the prevention of mass violence: Active bystandership in extreme times and in building peaceful societies. Schroeder, D.A., & Graziano, W.G. (Eds.). The Oxford handbook of prosocial behavior. New York: Oxford University Press.          

Change Theory of the week: How Change Happens (Part 2 for this week, pp. 30-47)

Further Reading/Watching:

Feb 19th: Joakim Medin

Padlet#1: for infos on and questions for Joakim (will be made available to him Friday, February 16th)

Padlet#2: for news on the role of media and free speech and different actors associated to that (contribute by Feb 19th, 17pm the latest)

Guiding Questions: What is the role of media in social movements? How has this role evolved and morphed over recent years?

Mandatory Reading/Watching:

Rich Media, Poor Democracy – Communications Politics in Dubious Times – David Spencer

Change Theory of the Week: Nation and Empire – Hierarchies of Citizenship in the New Global Order 

Further Reading/Watching:

Joakim Medin interview with VICE

Feb 26th: David Roxendal

Padlet#1: for infos on and questions for David (will be made available to him Friday, February 23rd)

Padlet#2: for news on permaculture and related grassroots movements and different actors associated to that (contribute by Feb 26th, 17pm the latest)

Guiding Questions: What is permaculture and how is it different from industrial types of agriculture – and why does this matter? What does ‘living off the grid’ mean and how can individual actions and lifestyle choices affect social change?

Mandatory Reading/Watching:

Leo Horrigan, Robert S. Lawrence and Polly Walker: How Sustainable Agriculture Can Address the Environmental and Human Health Harms of Industrial Agriculture

Change Theory of the Week: Karen O’Brien The Three Sphere of Transformation

Further Reading/Watching:

Kalles Sex Liv on SVTPlay: In Episode 2 he visits David and his wife Eliza in Stjärnsund. It’s in Swedish, but still a good way for you to get an idea of what the place looks like.

David’s website with examples of his work.

ETC Group: Questions for the Food and Climate Crisis – Who Will Feed Us?

Mar 5th: Kevin Anderson

Padlet#1: for infos on and questions for Kevin (will be made available to him Friday, March 2nd)

Padlet#2: for news on sustainable travel and the role of science and different actors associated to that (contribute by Mar 12th, 17pm the latest)

Guiding Questions: What is a carbon budget? Whose responsibility is it to manage it? And what does this mean for individual people’s lives?

Mandatory Reading/Watching:

Kevin Anderson – Hypocrites in the air: should climate change academics lead by example?

Peter Kalmus – Why did climate scientists emit 30.000 tonnes of CO2 this weekend?

Further Reading/Watching:

Peter Kalmus Blog: Life with a tenth the fossil fuel

Glen Peters and Kevin Anderson: The trouble with negative emissions

Mar 12th: Debate Session

Padlet#1: for news on ongoing controversial debates that are in the public sphere (contribute by Mar 12th, 17pm the latest)

Guiding Questions: How does the debate session work? Have I read the debate instructions?

Mandatory Reading/Watching:

Debate Instructions

Further Reading/Watching:

Since there is no other mandatory reading for this week it’s a good time to make some progress on your Individual Assignment, Part 1. Everything required is outlined in the instructions, so make sure to read them through carefully and double-check if you fulfilled all requirements before submitting the assignment. The instructions are a framework, but you’re also asked to shape the assignment based on your own experiences and (critical) thoughts during the course, thus bringing structure to the quite loose Q&A format.

Mar 19th: Lisa Farnström

Padlet#1: for infos on and questions for Lisa (will be made available to her Friday, March 16th)

Padlet#2: for news on artivism as a tool of change and different actors associated to that (contribute by Mar 19th, 17pm the latest)

Guiding Questions: How can artivism be used as a tool for change? Can art act as a source of inspiration in the fight against climate change or in other social movements?

Mandatory Reading/Watching:

Building Collective Identities How New Social Movements Try to Overcome Post politics

On “Artivism,” or Art’s Utility in Social Change

Disobedience Live Wrap-up

Change Theory of the Week – Four Changes – Gary Snyder

Further Reading/Watching:

Disobedience Live Website

Run for your life videos

Mar 26th: Literature Seminar

Padlet#1: Add anything here you would like to discuss during the literature seminar. This should include relating the book to specific guests and/or (change) literature in the course, highlight missing elements and/or strengths and weaknesses of the book in explaining social change. Make sure to ‘like’ other contributions you would also like to discuss and we will include some of the most liked contributions in the seminar. Deadline for contributions is Sunday midnight.

The Seminar itself: During the seminar we will discuss various questions based on your contributions in Padlet 1 and anything we find relevant in addition to that in a slight variation of a World Café format. This will include small discussions rounds and switching around as you see fit. We will explain this in more detail on the day.

Mandatory Reading/Watching: Ways of Social Change in its entirety.

Apr 2nd: Public Holiday

During this week we don’t have class, but we’ve set aside time for you to engage with the peer-review process regarding Assignment 1, Part 1. The draft for this is due on April 1st, which you should upload on Studentportalen and send to your two peer-reviewers. The peer review list can be found on the course website under “Assignment Instructions”, including contact information. If you have not received two other papers by Monday get in touch with us so we can make sure you have two papers to review, which is part of the assessment process. You then have until Friday, April 6th to review two papers (300 words minimum and comments throughout, see instructions for detailed guideline), upload the review on Studentportalen AND email them back to the author. Everyone then has until Sunday April, 15th to incorporate the feedback they received into their draft, finalise it and upload the final version, which will be checked for plagiarism, on Studentportalen.

Apr 9th: Annika Skoglund

Padlet#1: for infos on and questions for Annika (will be made available to her Friday, April 6th)

Padlet#2: for news on activism in the workplace and different actors associated to that (contribute by Apr 9th, 17pm the latest)

Guiding Questions: Can activism, and specifically environmentalism, be enacted from within polluting organisations? How can we empirically study such activism and which theories can help us to better understand dispersed forms of activism? If we choose to affirm a variety of ways that activism can be deployed, what are the implications on our political subjectivity, suggested, as it has been, to be debased in calls for resilience in sustainable development policies?

Mandatory Reading/Watching:

Apr 16th: Karl Andreasson

Padlet#1: for infos on and questions for Karl (will be made available to him Friday, April 13th)

Padlet#2: for news on resistance and giving a voice to the voiceless and different actors associated to that (contribute by Apr 16th, 17pm the latest)

Guiding Questions: How is direct action effective? How does it compare with other forms of activism? What inspires you to take a stand and put your body on the line?

Mandatory Reading/Watching:

Article on mass civil disobedience in Germany

When normal people get together and do extraordinary things

Change Theory of the Week – The Justifiability of Violent Civil Disobedience

Further Reading/Watching:

Disobedience Documentary

Apr 23rd: Karl-Henrik Robért

Padlet#1: for infos on and questions for Karl-Henrik (will be made available to him Friday, April 20th)

Padlet#2: for news on ethical framework and interdisciplinary tools for systematic change and different actors associated to that (contribute by Apr 23rd, 17pm the latest)

Guiding Questions: How can science serve sustainable leadership? How can it help get all the different aspects of interdisciplinary together? What challenges and opportunities can you identify?

Mandatory Reading/Watching:

Broman, Göran and Robért, Karl-Henrik et al. (2017). Science in support of systematic leadership towards sustainability. Journal of Cleaner Production 140, pp. 1-9.

The FSSD “Picture Book” is a fast read to get the picture of the article below on a framework for strategic sustainable development (further reading). If you put the pointer at the upper left corner of each slide, you will see the corresponding manuscript.

Change Theory of the Week – Sustainable entrepreneurship and sustainability innovation – categories and interactions

Further Reading/Watching:

Broman, Göran and Robért, Karl-Henrik et al. (2017). A framework for strategic sustainable development. Journal of Cleaner Production 140, pp. 17-31. A review of a 29 year long consensus process to derive a unifying framework in line with the needs outlined in the editorial above.

Apr 30th: Public Holiday

We know it’s Valborg this week and most of you will probably be overwhelmed by what the city has turned into. However, the next deadline for the group assignment is coming up – and we guarantee you it’ll come faster than you’ll expect. So find a time to meet up with your group sometime this week to continue the dialogue and move forward. Much will depend on how well you understand the case as a group, rather than just your actor as an individual.

May 7th: Heidi Moksnes

Padlet#1: for infos on and questions for Heidi (will be made available to her Friday, May 4th)

Padlet#2: for news on finding collective agency in a sea of individualism and different actors associated to that (contribute by May 7th, 17pm the latest)

Guiding Questions: 

How have social movements found success in a neo-liberal paradigm? What are the limitations? Is collective agency possible in a world of individuals?

Mandatory Reading/Watching:

Social movements in a neo-liberal era: Ethnographies of local activists in transnational networks (excerpt from Global Civil Society – Shifting Powers in a Shifting World)

Change Theory of the Week – Ambivalence and Citizenship- Theorising the Political Claims of Irregular Migrants

Further Reading/Watching:

Claiming the City Civil Society – Mobilisation by the Urban Poor

Faith in Civil Society – Religious Actors as Drivers of Change

May 14th: Pelle Strindlund

Padlet#1: for infos on and questions for Pelle (will be made available to him Friday, May 11th)

Padlet#2: for news on creating peaceful social change and different actors associated to that (contribute by May 7th, 17pm the latest)

Guiding Questions: What inspires you to take such sacrifices and action that many may deem to be radical? How have your experiences of peace activism and animal rights activism had an effect on the way you live your life?

Mandatory Reading/Watching:

Swedish Ploughshares Disarm Grenade Launchers Used by U.S. Military in Iraq

Hen Liberator Released from Prison

Change Theory of the Week – Dialogue, Activism, and Democratic Social Change

Further Reading/Watching:

Book review on Pelle’s book: Every Creature a Word of God (half-way down page)

Interview with Pelle (in Swedish)

May 21st: Actors in Action Roleplay

Mandatory Reading/Watching: As you can see from the instructions you will be assigned peer review groups for the Actors in Action assignment. In preparation for the role play on May 21st you should individually read through the respective group report before the session and take note of interesting points during the role play to use for your peer review during the Sustainability Festival on May 25th. Refer back to the assignment instructions for more information.

Peer Review (links to report):

• Black Lives Matter will review Cobalt Mine
• Cobalt Mine will review Ende Gelände
• Ende Gelände will review Fisheries Overexploitation
• Fisheries Overexploitation will review Gender Pay Gap
• Gender Pay Gap will review Gun Control
• Gun Control will review Monsanto
• Monsanto will review Tabajos River Basin
• Tabajos River Basin will review Black Lives Matter

We will be meeting at Kollaboratoriet, which is a room in the center of town. The address is Östra Ågatan 19. Enter the building and then it’s the room directly to the right after a short corridor. Make sure to plan in extra time if you’re not sure where to go since we are short on time and will start at 17.15 sharp. Guy will cycle from CEMUS at 16.45pm if you want a guide.

Also note that you will be filmed. This footage will only be made available to your classmates, but should you not want to be filmed come and talk to us so we can find a solution together. The footage will be made available to you during Tuesday so that you will have some time to prepare for the peer review.

And just as a reminder: make sure not to have a pre-written role play where you just read out a text and follow a set order (again, refer to instructions for more info). There might be some interventions during the day which may mess with any pre-made plans… ;)

May 28th: Course Finale

Evaluation & BBQ!!!