Sustainable Living, Sustainable Society
Etablissement : ESPOL European School of Political and Social Sciences
Langue : Anglais
Formation(s) dans laquelle/lesquelles le cours apparait :
Période : S2
No prior knowledge is required – just an interest in sustainability issues and a willingness to engage with new ideas and debates.
This course explores how societies can transition towards greater sustainability by focusing on everyday practices, social movements, and collective forms of action. Rather than approaching sustainability as a technical or policy-driven challenge, the course places lifestyles, norms, and social change at the centre of analysis. It asks a fundamental question: how do people live sustainably, and how can individual and collective practices contribute to broader societal transformation?
Part I introduces the conceptual building blocks needed to understand sustainability as a social process. It examines what it means to live sustainably by analysing norms, routines, and practices, and how these evolve over time. The course then explores different drivers of social change, including social movements and lifestyles, market dynamics and consumer choice, and education as a lever for long-term transformation. These sessions provide students with key analytical tools to understand how sustainability transitions unfold across different spheres of society.
Part II applies these concepts to concrete empirical cases, focusing on social movements and lifestyles as potential pathways to sustainability. Students critically examine contemporary climate activism, such as Fridays for Future, alongside movements centred on food and consumption, including veganism, community-supported agriculture, minimalism, and the sharing economy. An interactive workshop complements the theoretical sessions by engaging students in hands-on experimentation with sustainable practices, particularly in the context of food, cooking, and everyday routines.
Throughout the course, students are encouraged to critically reflect on the transformative potential and limitations of lifestyle change and social movements. By combining theory, case studies, and practical experimentation, the course offers a nuanced understanding of sustainability as a collective, contested, and evolving societal project.
PART I: The Building Blocks
Session 1 Introduction: Sustainable living, sustainable society
Session 2 What does it mean to live sustainably? Norms, practices, and social change
Session 3 How does social change happen? Part I: Social movements and lifestyles
Session 4 How does social change happen? Part II: Markets and consumer choice
Session 5 How does social change happen? Part III: Education for sustainability
PART II: Social Movements and Lifestyles – Towards Sustainability?
Session 6 ‘New’ climate activism: Fridays for Future & Co.
Session 7 Vegan and vegetarian movements
Workshop Experimenting sustainability in practice
Session 8 Community-supported agriculture (CSA/AMAPs)
Session 9 Minimalism as a lifestyle
Session 10 Sharing economy movement
