New Book Strengthens Teaching on Sustainability and the Green Transition
Fourteen researchers from across the University of Copenhagen have contributed to a new interdisciplinary textbook on sustainability and the green transition for upper secondary education. The book is the result of an extensive continuing education programme at UCPH’s Green Solutions Centre.
The climate crisis clearly shows that global problems cannot be understood through a single discipline – they require collaboration across fields. To strengthen teaching on sustainability and the green transition in upper secondary schools, the publisher Systime is releasing a new textbook featuring contributions from UCPH researchers as well as upper secondary teachers who participated in the continuing education programme “Sustainability and the Green Transition for Upper Secondary Teachers” at UCPH’s Green Solutions Centre.
The publication “Sustainable development and green transition” brings together knowledge and academic perspectives across disciplines to strengthen teaching and provide students with a solid foundation of understanding.
Stig Jensen from the Centre of African Studies helped develop the continuing education programme, initiated the book project, and teaches in the programme. His contribution to the book focuses on the historical battle over nature.
“It has been incredibly exciting to be part of the entire process – from idea development to product development – and especially to see it executed on several levels. It has been a fantastic collaboration within the Green Solutions framework and with the upper secondary school principals, creating synergy on multiple fronts. On a personal level, it is deeply satisfying that my own research on one of the most important issues of our time, the green transition, is being brought into play for upper secondary schools through their skilled teachers, who pass it on to young people – Denmark’s most important resource,” says Stig Jensen.
Breadth and Interdisciplinarity
The book is divided into six themes that are central to understanding the broad scope of sustainability and the green transition:
- The battle over nature
- What can and should society sustain?
- Climate and big cities
- Climate emotions and agency
- Art and sustainability
- The food of the future
Each theme is represented by two or three faculties, and the book is fundamentally interdisciplinary. Each chapter introduces the theme broadly and then presents different academic perspectives, which are made didactic through various exercises –ending with an interdisciplinary exercise. Finally, each theme includes popular science research articles that delve deeper into the issues and offer opportunities for further reading.