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Political Ecology

Code: 42406
Credits: 6
2026/2027
Degree programme Type Course
Interdisciplinary Studies in Environmental, Economic and Social Sustainability OP 1

Contact lecturer

Name :
Sergio Villamayor Tomas
Email :
sergio.villamayor@uab.cat

Teaching staff

Panagiota Kotsila
Esteve Corbera Elizalde
Sergio Villamayor Tomas
Marina Requena Mora
Arnim Scheidel

Group languages

You can consult this information at the end of the document.

Prerequisites

If not native English speaker: valid IELTS (with a minimum score of 6.5) or TOEFL (minimum 550 paper based, 213 computer based, 79 web-based) score report or a Cambridge Certificate of Proficiency in English or Cambridge Certificate in Advanced English.

The students must hold an undergraduate degree with relevance to environmental or urban studies. Preferably with previous training in a social science (i.e., business, sociology, political science, economics)

Objectives

This course explores the interdisciplinary field of Political Ecology. Political Ecology is a theoretical and methodological approach for the study of social-ecological systems that focuses on conflict, power and the uneven distribution of environmental costs and benefits. We will familiarize you with core concepts used by political ecologists and teach you how to apply these concepts to your empirical material. We will introduce you to a critical way of looking at and understanding environmental problems, politics and policies. By the end of the course, you should be able to conduct a political ecology research project on your own. In addition, you will learn how to read and analyze social science, and you will improve your writing and argumentative skills.

Learning outcomes

  • CA22 (Design strategies for environmental governance and participation of social and institutional actors that promote equitable solutions to socio-environmental conflicts and sustainable resource management.) Design strategies for environmental governance and participation of social and institutional actors that promote equitable solutions to socio-environmental conflicts and sustainable resource management.
  • CA23 (Work effectively in a multidisciplinary context to address sustainability challenges from a political ecology perspective.) Work effectively in a multidisciplinary context to address sustainability challenges from a political ecology perspective.
  • CA24 (Propose measures to reduce socio-environmental inequalities paying particular attention to the gender perspective and promote environmental justice within the framework of political ecology.) Propose measures to reduce socio-environmental inequalities paying particular attention to the gender perspective and promote environmental justice within the framework of political ecology.
  • KA23 (Define the main social theories that underpin political ecology, such as unequal ecological distribution, common property, the social construction of nature, and environmental and climate justice.) Define the main social theories that underpin political ecology, such as unequal ecological distribution, common property, the social construction of nature, and environmental and climate justice.
  • KA24 (Explain key concepts and debates in political ecology, highlighting their relevance in the contexts of the Global South and the Global North.) Explain key concepts and debates in political ecology, highlighting their relevance in the contexts of the Global South and the Global North.
  • SA22 (Analyse examples of empirical research on access, use, planning, and governance of natural resources and urban infrastructure, and the unequal distribution of environmental costs and benefits.) Analyse examples of empirical research on access, use, planning, and governance of natural resources and urban infrastructure, and the unequal distribution of environmental costs and benefits.
  • SA23 (Analyse the relevant social and political actors in the study of socio-environmental conflicts from the perspective of political ecology.) Analyse the relevant social and political actors in the study of socio-environmental conflicts from the perspective of political ecology.
  • SA24 (Critically select qualitative and participatory methodologies suitable for research in political ecology.) Critically select qualitative and participatory methodologies suitable for research in political ecology.

Contents

  • Political ecology as a multidisciplinary approach to the study of environmental problems from a critical perspective.
  • Main ecological and social theories that inform political ecology, including, for example, non-equilibrium ecology, unequal ecological distribution, commons, the social construction of nature, and environmental and climate justice.
  • Methodological tools for conducting political ecology research.
  • Selection of key concepts and debates in political ecology relevant to the Global South and the Global North.
  • Examples of empirical research on access to, use, planning, and/or governance of natural resources and urban infrastructure, and on the uneven distribution of environmental costs and benefits.


The course consists of 18 classes. Each class, except the first four which will serve as introduction, is typically based on one mandatory reading and up to three optional readings that provide both theoretical and empirical perspectives on the corresponding class topic. We will discuss the readings together in class, and we expect everyone to participate actively in the discussions and read the assigned articles in advance. The lectures will combine presentations by the instructors, discussions of the readings, and breakout sessions focusing on specific issues, videographic material, and other resources. The core of the course covers most key themes in political ecology. Instructors have been assigned to themes based on their research expertise. Sergio Villamayor-Tomas, Esteve Corbera, and Panagiota Kotsila will introduce the course and teach on the commons, vulnerability and adaptation, the social construction of nature, conservation strategies, and urban environmental justice. Marina Requena and Arnim Scheidel will teach on the environmentalism of the poor, and environmental justice and conflicts.

PART I – THE FOUNDATIONS OF POLITICAL ECOLOGY

Session 1 – What is political ecology? (Esteve Corbera) –

Mandatory:

Robbins, P., 2004. Political versus Apolitical Ecologies. (Chapter 1) in Political Ecology, Blackwell.

Optional:

Forsyth, T. (2008). Political ecology and the epistemology of social justice. Geoforum, 39(2), 756-764.

Sultana, F. "Political ecology 1: From margins to center." Progress in Human Geography 45, no. 1 (2021): 156-165.

Rocheleau, D.E. (2008) Political ecology in the key of policy: from chains of explanation to webs of relation. Geoforum, 39(2): 716-727.


Session 2 – How about feminist political ecology? (Panagiota Kotsila) –

Mandatory:

Doshi, Sapana. "Embodied urban political ecology: Five propositions." Area 49, no. 1 (2017): 125-128.

Optional:

Singh, Neera M. "The affective labor of growing forests and the becoming of environmental subjects: Rethinking environmentality in Odisha, India." Geoforum 47 (2013): 189-198.

Sultana, Farhana. "Political ecology 1: From margins to center." Progress in human geography 45, no. 1 (2021): 156-165.

Elmhirst, Rebecca. "Feminist political ecology." In The Routledge handbook of political ecology, pp. 519-530. Routledge, 2015.

González-Hidalgo, M., & Zografos, C. (2020). Emotions, power, and environmental conflict: Expanding the ‘emotional turn’ in political ecology. Progress in Human Geography, 44(2), 235-255.


Session 3 - Can you sum up a poem I? A critical survey of political ecology methods (Sergio Villamayor-Tomas)

Mandatory:

Rocheleau, D. (1995). Maps, numbers, text, and context: Mixing methods in feminist political ecology. The Professional Geographer, 47(4), 458-466.

Optional:

Walker, P. A. (2007). Political ecology: where is the politics?. Progress in Human geography, 31(3), 363-369.

Rocheleau, D.E. (2008) Political ecology in the key of policy: from chains of explanation to webs of relation. Geoforum, 39(2): 716-727.

Zimmerer, K. S. (2015). Methods and environmental science in political ecology. In The Routledge handbook of political ecology (pp. 172-190). Routledge.


Session 4 - Can you sum up a poem II? A critical survey of feminist political ecology techniques (Panagiota Kotsila)

Mandatory

Rocheleau, Dianne. "Maps, numbers, text, and context: Mixing methods in feminist political ecology." The Professional Geographer 47, no. 4 (1995): 458-466.

Optional

Zaragocin, Sofia, and Martina Angela Caretta. "Cuerpo-territorio: A decolonial feminist geographical method for the study of embodiment." Annals of the American Association of Geographers 111, no. 5 (2021): 1503-1518.

Coll-Planell, Mar, and Maria Rodó-Zárate. "Climate Relief Maps: A methodological framework for exploring everyday experiences of climate change through an intersectional lens." Ambio (2025): 1-14.

Kotsila, Panagiota, Valeria‐Carolin Cuenca, Manuel Franco, Lourenço Melo, and Sam Pickard. "Embodying and resisting urban heat injustice: migrant vulnerabilities and radical adaptations in El Raval, Barcelona." International Journal of Urban and Regional Research 49, no. 6 (2025): 1462-1484.



PART II – SEMINAL THEMES IN POLITICAL ECOLOGY

Session 5 – Political ecology in the making: The case of research on the commons 1.0? (Sergio Villamayor-Tomas) –

Mandatory:

Ostrom, E. 1990. Governing The Commons. Cambridge University Press, New York. (pp. 58-82).

Optional:

Cole, D. H., Epstein, G., & McGinnis, M. D. (2014). Digging deeper into Hardin's pasture: the complex institutional structure of ‘the tragedy of the commons’. Journal of Institutional Economics, 10(3), 353-369.

Cox, M., Arnold, G., & Tomas, S. V. (2010). A review of design principles for community-based natural resource management. Ecology and Society, 15(4).

Ostrom, E., Janssen, M. A., & Anderies, J. M. (2007). Going beyond panaceas. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 104(39), 15176-15178.


Session 6 – Political ecology in the making: The case of research on the commons 2.0 (Sergio Villamayor-Tomas) –

Mandatory:

Agrawal, A. 1994. I don’t need it but you can’t have it: Politics on the commons. Pastoral Development Network 36:36–55.

Optional:

García López, G. A., Velicu, I., & D’Alisa, G. (2017). Performing counter-hegemonic common (s) senses: Rearticulating democracy, community and forests in Puerto Rico. Capitalism Nature Socialism, 28(3), 88-107.

Scholtens, Joeri. 2016. The elusive quest for access and collective action: North Sri Lankan fishers’ thwarted struggles against a foreign trawler fleet. International Journal of the Commons, 10(2).

Villamayor-Tomas, S., & García-López, G. A. (2021). Commons movements: Old and new trends in rural and urban contexts. Annual Review of Environment and Resources, 46(1), 511-543.


Session 7 – Vulnerability and adaptation in rural contexts (Sergio Villamayor-Tomas) –

Mandatory:

Sovacool, B. K. (2018). Bamboo beating bandits: Conflict, inequality, and vulnerability in the political ecology of climate change adaptation in Bangladesh. World development, 102, 183-194.

Optional:

Adger, W. N. (2006). Vulnerability. Global environmental change, 16(3), 268-281.

Collins, T. W. (2008). The political ecology of hazard vulnerability: marginalization, facilitation and the production of differential risk to urban wildfires in Arizona’s White Mountains. Journal of Political Ecology, 15(1), 21-43.

Facchini, F., Villamayor-Tomas, S., Corbera, E., Ravera, F., Pocull-Bellés, G., & Codina, G. L. (2023). Socio-ecological vulnerability in rural Spain: research gaps and policy implications. Regional Environmental Change, 23(1), 26.

Kelly, P. M., & Adger, W. N. (2000). Theory and practice in assessing vulnerability to climate change and Facilitating adaptation. Climatic change, 47(4), 325-352.


Session 8 – Vulnerability and adaptation in urban contexts (Panagiota Kotsila) –

Mandatory:

Kotsila, P., Ruiz Cayuela, Hidalgo, M. (FORTHCOMING 2026) Vulnerability revisited: Advancing feminist political ecology approaches inclimate and health studies. Progress in Environmental Geography.

Optional:

Tschakert, P. (2012). From impacts to embodied experiences: tracing political ecology in climate change research. Geografisk Tidsskrift-Danish Journal of Geography, 112(2), 144–158. https://doi.org/10.1080/00167223.2012.741889

Nightingale, Andrea J. "Urban climate change and feminist political ecology." In Turning up the heat, pp. 143-158. Manchester University Press, 2023.


Session 9 – The social construction of nature (Esteve Corbera) –

Mandatory:

Robbins, P., 2004. Challenges in Social Construction (Chapter 6). In Political Ecology, Blackwell

Optional:

Sletto B., 2008, The Knowledge that Counts: Institutional Identities, Policy Science, and the Conflict Over Fire Management in the Gran Sabana, Venezuela. World Development, 36(10): 1938-1955.

Benjaminsen, T.A., Aune, J., Sidibé, D. (2010) A critical political ecology of cotton and soil fertility in Mali. Geoforum, 41: 647-656.

Davis, D.K., 2005. Indigenous knowledge and the desertification debate: problematising expert knowledge in North Africa. Geoforum, 36: 509–524.


Session 10 – ‘Territorial’ conservation I (Esteve Corbera) –

Mandatory:

Neumann R.P., 2015. ‘Nature conservation’. In: The Routledge handbook of political ecology, Routledge.

Optional:

Bocarejo, D., Ojeda, D., 2016. Violence and conservation: Beyond unintended consequences and unfortunate coincidences. Geoforum, 69: 176-183.

Brown, K. (1998) The political ecology of biodiversity, conservation and development in Nepal’s Terai: Confused meanings, means and ends. Ecological Economics, 24: 73-87.

Peluso, N.L. (1993) Coercing conservation? The politics of state resource control. Global Environmental Change, 3(2): 199–217.


Session 11 – ‘Neoliberal’ conservation (Esteve Corbera) –

Mandatory:

Apostolopoulou E., Chatzimentor A., Maestre-Andrés S., Requena M., Bormpoudakis D. 2021. Reviewing 15 years of research on neoliberal conservation. Geoforum 124, pp. 236–256.

Optional:

Bluwstein J., 2018. From colonial fortresses to neoliberal landscapes in Northern Tanzania: a biopolitical ecology of wildlife conservation. Journal of Political Ecology 25(1): 144-168.

Corbera, E., 2012. Problematizing REDD+ as an experiment in payments for ecosystem services. Current Opinion in Environmental Sustainability, 4: 612–619.

Corbera, E., Lave, R., Robertson, M., Maestre-Andrés, S. (2021) Neoliberal policy refugia: The death and life of biodiversity offsetting in the European Union and its member states.Transactions of the Institute of British Geographers, 46(2): 255-269.


Session 12 –Social metabolism, affluence, and environmental impact: Who is "too poor" or "too rich" to be green? I (Marina Requena-i-Mora) –

Mandatory:

Martinez-Alier, J. (1995). The environment as a luxury good or "too poor to be green"? Ecological Economics, 13(1), 1-10.

Optional:

Requena-i-Mora, M., & Brockington, D. (2021). Seeing environmental injustices: the mechanics, devices and assumptions of environmental sustainability indices and indicators. Journal of Political Ecology, 28(1).

Martinez-Alier, J. (2004). Ecological distribution conflicts and indicators of sustainability. International Journal of Political Economy, 34(1), 13-30


Session 13 –Public support for environmental protection: Who is too poor or too rich to be green? II (Marina Requena-i-Mora) –

Mandatory:

Requena-i-Mora, M., Brockington, D., & Fleischman, F. (2025). Eco-paradox USA: The relationships between economic growth and environmental concern generally, and by different income groups. Ecological Economics, 235, 108648.

Optional:

Inglehart, R., 1995. Public support for environmental protection: objective problems and subjective values in 43 societies. PS. Polit. Sci. Polit. 28, 57–72. https://doi.org/10.2307/420583.

Gugushvili, D. (2021). Public attitudes toward economic growth versus environmental sustainability dilemma: evidence from Europe. International Journal of Comparative Sociology, 62(3), 224-240.

Session 14 – Environmental degradation and marginalization (Arnim Scheidel) –

Mandatory:

Benjaminsen, T. A. (2015). Political Ecologies of Environmental Degradation and Marginalization. In T. Perreault, G. Bridge, & McCarthy J (Eds.), The Routledge Handbook of Political Ecology (Chapter 27). Routledge.

Optional:

Navas, G. (2023). ‘If there’s no evidence, there’s no victim’: undone science and political organisation in marginalising women as victims of DBCP in Nicaragua. The Journal of Peasant Studies, 50(4), 1569–1592. https://doi.org/10.1080/03066150.2021.2024517

Dunlap, A., & Jakobsen, J. (2019). Studying the Worldeater(s): Political Ecology and Critical Agrarian Studies and Their Origins, Differences and Convergence. In The Violent Technologies of Extraction (pp. 43–72). Springer International Publishing. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-26852-7_3


Session 15 – Environmental Justice movements (Arnim Scheidel) –

Mandatory:

Anguelovski, I., & Martínez Alier, J. (2014). The “Environmentalism of the Poor” revisited: Territory and place in disconnected glocal struggles. Ecological Economics, 102, 167–176. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecolecon.2014.04.005

Optional:

Scheidel, A., del Bene, D., Liu, J., Navas, G., Mingorría, S., Demaria, F., Avila, S., Roy, B., Ertör, I., Temper, L., & Martínez-Alier, J. (2020). Environmental conflicts and defenders: A global overview. Global Environmental Change, 63, 102104. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gloenvcha.2020.102104

Schlosberg, D., Rickards, L., Pearse, R., della Bosca, H., & Moraes, O. (2025). Critical environmental justice in contemporary scholarship and movements: consensus and plurality of the discourse. Environmental Politics, 34(3), 399–420. https://doi.org/10.1080/09644016.2024.2362573


Session 16 – Urban environmental justice (Panagiota Kotsila) –

Mandatory

Gould, K., & Lewis, T. (2016) Green Gentrification: Urban Sustainability and the Struggle for Environmental Justice. Routledge. Chapter 2.

Optional

Heynen, N., Kaika, M., Swyngedouw, E. (2006) Urban Political Ecology: Politicizing the production of urban natures. In In the Nature of Cities (pp. 16-35). Routledge.

Kotsila, P., Anguelovski, I., Baró, F., Langemeyer, J., Sekulova, F. and JT Connolly, J., (2021). Nature-based solutions as discursive tools and contested practices in urban nature’s neoliberalisation processes. Environment and Planning E: Nature and Space, 4(2), pp.252-274.

Anguelovski, Isabelle, Panagiota Kotsila, Loretta Lees, Margarita Triguero-Mas, and Amalia Calderón-Argelich. "From heat racism and heat gentrification to urban heat justice in the USA and Europe." Nature Cities 2, no. 1 (2025): 8-16.


Session 17 Book Review 1 (all instructors)


Session 18 Book Review 2 (all instructors)


Learning activities and methodology

Title Hours ECTS Learning outcomes
At home assignment: book review (individual written assignment) 34 1.36 CA22, CA23, CA24, KA23, KA24
Work in large group (classroom) 26 1.04 KA23, KA24
Review of essays (classroom) 6 0.24 KA23, KA24
Readings 21 0.84 KA23, KA24
At home short assignment(s) 47 1.88 SA22, SA23, SA24
Work in small groups (out of class) 10 0.4 KA23, KA24

See evaluation

Annotation: within the schedule set by the centre or degree programme, 15 minutes of one class will be reserved for students to evaluate their lecturers and their courses or modules through questionnaires.

Assessment

Continuous assessment activities

Title Weight Hours ECTS Learning outcomes
Individual book review 20% 0 0 KA23, KA24, SA22, SA23, SA24
Book review defense 10% 4 0.16 KA23, KA24
Final exam 40% 2 0.08 SA22, SA23, SA24
Short essays 30% 0 0 CA22, CA23, CA24, SA22, SA23, SA24

This module does not offer Single Assessment, as agreed with the coordination of the degree and with the Dean's Office of the Faculty of Sciences. The evaluation is based on three main items:

1. Weekly in-class essays (30% of final grade)

In preparation for each session, you will have to write 100 words “educated opinion essay” in at home, focused on a question related to the readings that the instructors will post on CV at least 3 workdays in advance. The essays will be used as materials for instructors to adjust their classes and to open a conversation about the topic of the day at the start of each session. The essays will be graded for evaluation. The first four sessions will not have an essay. If you want to discuss your assignments or our evaluation, you can ask for an appointment with the correspondent instructor.

Failure to submit the essays on time without proper justification (e.g., health issues) will result in a grade of zero, which will be included in the average for the essay component of the final grade. In case you miss a class, are sick, etc., you should inform the instructors in advance and then submit the essay later as agreed. By default, if the essay is submitted more than one week after the due date, it will be graded with a zero.

Auditors should also write the weekly assignment but are exempt from the book review and the exam (more information on these below).

The essays will be graded based on:

  • Correctness, i.e., your ability to properly refer to key concepts from the reading.
  • Strength and effective development of the argument used to support your position.
  • Application of theoretical concepts through concrete examples, demonstrating your ability to connect course readings with real-world cases and practical instances that illustrate political ecology dynamics.
  • Clear analytical connections to appropriate PE and PE-related concepts.
  • Communication (clarity, concision).


2. Exam (40% of final grade)

This will take place on the set date (see program). The exam will be an in-class, hand-written exam and you will be allowed to bring (non-digital) notes with you. The exam will last 2 hours and include questions related to the essays, mandatory and optional readings, and in-class discussions. Being familiar with the optional readings may be important to aspire to a high mark.

The style of the questions will be like those submitted in the weekly homework, i.e. short questions with an expected answer of approx. 250 words. Please, think of the essays to train yourself for the exam. We can accommodate special cases if students need more time or adjustments to the exam conditions. Please contact the course coordinator at the beginning of the module if you may need such adjustments. The exams will be graded anonymously.

Students who fail the exam (less than 50% of all available points) will have a chance to retake it (see date in program). If they fail the exam for a second time, they will fail the module.

3. Book review (30% of the final grade)

Instructors will post at the beginning of the course a series of books to write 1000 words review (Times New Roman, 12 pt, single space). The instructions of the book review will be presented in the first session of the course. You will need to pick a book one week after the third session of the course. The book review will be individual and will need to be submitted on CV on the set date (TBC). We will devote the last session of the course before the exam to group presentations of the reviews. Groups will be formed based on the books chosen. In that session, each member of the group will need to answer between 1 and 2 questions from the instructors to verify that they have read and understood the book. If there are issues regarding contribution to the group work you will need to write to the coordinator of the course so we can assess and adjust gradings if necessary.

The book reviews will be graded based on:

  • Understanding of the Book’s Arguments (main thesis, key concepts, and overall contribution).
  • Critical Analysis: thoughtful evaluation of the book’s strengths, limitations, and assumptions, going beyond summary.
  • Engagement with Political Ecology Concepts connecting the book to relevant theories, concepts, and debates discussed in the course.
  • Use of Evidence (examples and references from the book).
  • Organization and Academic Writing: Presentation of ideas clearly and logically, using appropriate academic language, structure, and referencing.


IA Disclosure

In this course, the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) technologies is not permitted at any stage. Any assignment that includes AI-generated content will be considered a breach of academic integrity and may result in a partial or total penalty on the grade for the activity, or more serious sanctions in severe cases.


Bibliography

See Contents section

Software

None

Course groups and languages

The information provided is provisional until November 30. After this date, you will be able to consult the language of each group through this link. To access the information, you will need to enter the course CODE

Type of teaching Group Language Semester Shift
(TEm) Theory (master) 1 English first semester morning-mixed