CONS 200 - Foundations of Conservation (Human Dimensions)

Description:

The conservation of species and ecosystems is a vital and deeply human endeavour. This course examines a core set of ‘human dimensions’ of conservation, and their role in shaping human-ecological systems and outcomes. CONS 200 takes the perspective that conservation landscapes are the co-produced outcome of human and ecological processes that interact across scales. The course is organized by 3 themes: 1) history of western conservation thought; 2) conservation values and 3) governance. Through these themes, we will explore topics and trends in international and domestic conservation, environmental ethics, social impacts and emerging challenges for conservation in a human-dominated and rapidly changing world.

CONS 200 compliments other more biologically-focussed conservation courses offered within the Faculty of Forestry. This course does not explicitly address ecological and biophysical aspects of conservation, and/or protected areas design. Thus, while CONS 200 takes a linked social-ecological perspective on conservation broadly, specific attention is placed on the role of human dimensions (including, but not limited to human impacts) so as to build a foundation for holistic conservation practice.

Lastly, CONS 200 is part of a faculty-wide initiative to develop effective writing skills. You will be assessed on the content of your writing, and on your ability to express and organize your ideas at the level expected of a second-year university course. Specific criteria and strategies for success will be distributed and reviewed in class.

CONS 528 - Social Science Research Methods and Design for Natural Resource Management

Description: 

CONS 528 is an introductory graduate-level seminar covering social science research methods and research design with an emphasis on qualitative approaches (including in the context of mixed methods designs). We will use an interactive workshop format to engage with the course material. Through this format, students will participate actively in discussions relating to the week’s readings and concepts, as well as gain applied experience using an array of different qualitative research methods and approaches to analysis.

Three themes provide the structure the organization of the course: foundations, applications and interpretation and communication in qualitative and mixed-methods inquiry. The foundations theme focusses on theoretical paradigms and perspectives in qualitative inquiry, epistemological considerations about the nature of evidence and validity, ethical considerations and protocols for research involving humans, and principles of qualitative and mixed-methods research design. The applications theme focusses on engagement with an array of data collection methods. These methods will include different forms of interviews, participant observation, document analysis and structured approaches (among others).  The interpretation and communication themes focus on qualitative data analysis, qualitative data analysis software (e.g. NVivo), and writing qualitative and mixed-methods inquiry for different audiences.