Climate change courses offered this summer
The courses provide opportunities for all students to learn about the climate emergency
KPU will be offering three policy studies courses focusing on climate change next semester.
The courses will be offered in blended and in-person formats, and will give students an opportunity to learn about the climate emergency through a hands-on approach.
POST 2140: CityLab: (Re)designing the City for Climate Justice will give students the opportunity to speak with climate activists, community advisors, and City of Surrey staffers.
Students will also be asked to “reimagine policy and urban designs for climate justice in housing and mobility,” reads the promotion poster.
“The idea of this course is to expose students to interdisciplinary perspectives and to get them working with a group of different students,” says David Sadoway, an instructor in the geography and environmental department at KPU.
The class is a special topics course and is open to all KPU students. POST 2140 will be offered on Wednesdays at the Civic Plaza campus from 4:00 to 6:50 pm.
“When I previously taught this course, two years ago, students focused on redesigning the KPU campus. This year, our theme is redesigning the city for climate justice,” Sadoway says.
“This is a university course treated as an experiment, so maybe students can pick up their public speaking skills during a presentation or enhance their communication and graphic skills,” he says.
In POST 2140, Sadoway will be also asking BIPOC speakers to come into the class and share their experiences and how they have been impacted with climate change.
“I want people who have had different experiences in parts of Metro Vancouver, speaking about the climate emergency from their perspective and give students insight that I can’t personally,” he says.
“I could refer students to literature and resources, but I need to populate the course with inspiring ideas as well.”
The other courses being offered next semester are POST 1100: Sustainability and Ethics and POST 4150: Psychology and Sustainability taught by Marc Champagne and Cluny South.
POST 1100 will be offered on Mondays at the Surrey campus from 1:00 to 3:50 pm and POST 4150 is scheduled Wednesdays in a blended format of in-person and online with synchronous and asynchronous sessions from 1:00 to 3:50 pm.
“I am basically advocating for more climate change programming and courses. Our students and communities want it because it is an emergency,” Sadoway says.
Sadoway will also be teaching a geography course, GEOG 2380, which will “open [students’] eyes to powerful research methods for learning about changing communities and societies,” reads the promotion poster. The class will be offered on Tuesdays at the Surrey campus from 4:00 to 6:50 pm.
Sadoway believes in the hands-on approach when it comes to teaching and wants his students to learn outside the classroom.
“Especially because it is the summer, I do not want students to be stuck in the classroom.”
“The best way for students to learn is to give them a problem and have them come up with a scenario to apply it,” he says.
Students interested in these courses can sign up or waitlist on the KPU OSS portal.
