This course will mainly depend on the lecture notes since the modules will be conducted by different instructors. Several useful readings will be handed out during the modules. The home pages of international agencies that provide information and sometimes free downloads of articles are the World Bank (http://www.worldbank.org/), the International Monetary Fund (http://www.imf.org/), the United Nations (http://www.un.org/), the United Nations Development Program (http://www.undp.org/indexalt.html), World Institute for Development Economics Research (http://www.wider.unu.edu/).
Sustainable Development course consists of several modules which are conducted by 9 different instructors whose names are listed on the next 2 pages. This course will deal with the economic aspects of the Sustainable Development process in the developing and less developed countries in particular, and the developed countries in general. Its focus is not only on methods of promoting economic growth and structural change, but also on improving the health, education, gender and income inequalities, and workplace conditions through public or private channels. Detailed survey data of the world’s poor as well as policies that have been attempted and applied will be examined in this course.
“Our Common Future” report published by the Bruntland Commission in 1987 aimed to analyze the relationship between economic development and environmental stability. It defined Sustainable Development (SD) as “development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs” (United Nations General Assembly, 1987, p. 43).
“One future or none at all”. The United Nations (UN) has set the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in 2015. Concepts of poverty and income inequality, environmental degradation and destruction, climate change, population growth, urbanization, migration, human capital, agricultural transformation, and rural development will be covered under the topic of Sustainable Development. The planetary boundaries must be considered while the SDGs are targeted. Hence, humanity should end extreme poverty and refrain from borrowing from the next generations to come. The course aims to provide a basic understanding about sustainable development by suggesting various policies, strategies, and tools to achieve it.
Vertical Tabs
Course Learning Outcomes
The major objectives of the course are to: (1) understand the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the basic concepts of Sustainable Development, (2) analyze the economic, environmental, and social problems of the developed, developing, and less developed countries, especially problems related to slow growth, stagnation, high poverty rates, high income inequality, and chronic external crises, (3) discuss strategies to accelerate growth and efficiency, attain Sustainable Development, reduce poverty and income inequality, and decrease external imbalances both within and between countries globally, (4) develop the ability to look at the world from a systems perspective, (5) learn to recognize, analyze and tackle a sustainability problem using the problem-solving methodologies of sustainability science, and (6) gain an understanding of key disciplinary concepts from the natural sciences, social sciences, and humanities that have special relevance to solving sustainability problems.
Course Flow
| Weeks (Modules) | Lecture Dates | Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) | Contents and Instructors |
|
Week 1
Module 1 |
19.02.21 |
|
Introduction to Sustainable Development
(Asst. Prof. Ebru Tomris Aydoğan) |
|
Week 2
Module 2 |
26.02.21 |
 
|
An Unequal World: Inequality,
Poverty, Happiness, and Well-being (Asst. Prof. Ebru Tomris Aydoğan) SDGs 1, 2, 3, and 10 |
|
Week 3
Module 3 |
05.03.21 |
 
|
A Brief History of Economic Development
(Asst. Prof. Ebru Tomris Aydoğan) SDGs 8 and 17 |
|
Week 4
Module 4 |
12.03.21 |
|
Ending Extreme Poverty
(Asst. Prof. Ebru Tomris Aydoğan) SDG 1 |
|
Week 5
Module 5 |
19.03.21 |
 
|
Human Capital: Education and Health
(Asst. Prof. Ebru Tomris Aydoğan) SDGs 4 and 6 |
|
Week 6
Module 6 |
26.03.21 |
 
|
Planetary Boundaries
* The Future of Seawater Desalination: Energy and Marine Impacts (Assoc. Prof. Börte Köse Mutlu) SDG 14 * Growing Vegetables for Sustainable Environment and Health (Environment and Landscape Manager Lütfiye Kozlan) SDG 15 |
| Week 7 | 02.04.21 | MIDTERM EXAM | |
|
Week 8
Module 7 |
09.04.21 |
 
|
Human Rights and Gender Equality
(Prof. Oktay Uygun) SDGs 5 and 16 |
|
Week 9
Module 8 |
16.04.21 |
|
Sustainable Food Supply
(Assoc. Prof. Özlem Güçlü Üstündağ) SDG 12 |
| Week 10 | 23.04.21 | HOLIDAY | |
|
Week 11
Module 9 |
30.04.21 |
|
Sustainable Cities
(Asst. Prof. Pınar Karakaş) SDG 11 |
|
Week 12
Module 10 |
07.05.21 |
|
Sustainable Built Environment
(Prof. Dr. Ece Ceylan Baba) SDG 9 |
| Week 13 | 14.05.21 | HOLIDAY | |
|
Week 14
Module 11 |
21.05.21 |
|
Climate Change
(Asst. Prof. Barış Gençer Baykan) SDG 13 |
|
Week 15
Module 12 |
28.05.21 |
|
Sustainable Energy Sources and Renewable Energy
(Asst. Prof. Ayşem Gülin Çakıroğlu) SDG 7 |
Recommended Sources
Jeffrey Sachs
The Age of Sustainable Development (Sürdürülebilir Kalkınma Çağı)
Columbia University Press, 2015 (Yeditepe Üniversitesi Yayınevi, 2019)
Assessment
The performance of the students will be determined by two written exams (a term exam, a social responsibility project, and a final exam). Hard-work, effort, and interest will be appreciated. Term exam will be held during the scheduled class period. Final exam is scheduled for the final week. No make-ups will be given except for serious illness, which is verified by a physician’s report. Everyone is expected to show up and take the exams as scheduled. Academic honesty is fundamental to the learning process. The rules of academic integrity adopted by the Yeditepe University community will be the foundation on which this course operates.
The distribution of the exam weights are as follows:
Term exam 40%
Final/Sustainable Development project 60%
ECTS