Category Archives: Education

Education

New course: CPT-54306 Geopolitics and strategic communication – serious gaming

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NEW COURSE: Geopolitics and Strategic Communication – Serious gaming, serious theory, serious reflection CPT-54306 – period 4

geopoliticsThis course engages students with theories on interpersonal relations and strategic communication in the context of geopolitics. It addresses the dynamics of negotiation processes and the verbal and non-verbal ways to influence, persuade or even manipulate other people. Students will discuss and experience the importance of different aspects like trust, framing, persuasion, power-relations. These aspects play a pivotal role in negotiation and decision-making processes and are studied in a wide variety of disciplines such as policymaking, planning, communication, and international development. The course combines theoretical and experimental learning. Learning processes are enhanced through serious gaming and conscious reflections upon theory and practice. During the course knowledge about theories, concepts and different methods for observation, analysis and reflection will be provided through (guest)lectures and reading materials. Serious gaming will be used to link theoretical reflections and observation skills with practicing persuasive and negotiation skills. Playing the game Diplomacy will allow the students to engage with the students with the real practices of geopolitics and strategic communication. As the developer of the game stated, ‘‘The notion that a player may tell all the lies he wants and cross people as he pleases etc., make some people almost euphoric and causes others to “shake like a leaf”, as one new player put it, came up almost incidentally, because it was the most realistic in international affairs and also far and away the most workable approach’’ (Calhamer, 1993).

After successful completion of this course you are able to:

  • Demonstrate knowledge of theoretical concepts for understanding interpersonal relations
  • Reflect upon geo-politics and strategic communication
  • Understand and apply strategies influencing negotiation processes
  • Be strong like a lion and cunning like a fox

More information :

Raoul.beunen@wur.nl

Internship possibility

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STA73745Earlier this year Clara Celestino Siurana completed her internship at the PeeRGroup in Donderen. She developed a design and building of a vegetable garden (see here for original description of the intership). Their terrain, a former ammunition depot has now the status of an ‘estate’ and ecologically rare species have been discovered because nature on that terrain has not been fertilized by convential agriculture for the past 50 years. They have a long way to go in making the terrain a multifunctional space open for public and connected to the care farm with which they collaborate. The small kitchen garden by Clara is only one of the things they want to develop.

Therefore, the PeeRGroup Donderen is still looking for students that want to play a role in further developing this unique project. Contact Marin de Boer (marin@peergroup.nl) or Sjoerd Wagenaar (sjoerd@peergroup.nl) if you are interested. Look at their website (http://www.peergroup.nl/donderboerkamp/) for more information.

Introduction into Sociology and Anthropology of Place Shaping – optional course and free choice minor

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Poster RSO-56806Starting Monday 17 Februray 2014,  in the 4th educational period of Wageningen University, the optional course RSO-56806 Introduction into Sociology and Anthropology of Place Shaping will be offered again in collaboratyion with Cultural Geography Group and Land Use Planning Group. For more information on the course contact the course coordinator Joost Jongerden: joost.jongerden@wur.nl

The course can be the first of four succeeding courses in period 5 and 6 up to a total of 24 ects as part of the free choice minor ‘Place and space in planning and development‘ open to BSc-students from WU and other high education institutes, such as the Van Hall Larenstein University of Applied Sciences.

The course offered as part of the minor are:

  • Period 4: RSO-56806 Sociology and Anthropology of Place-Shaping, whole days
  • Periode 5: RDS-30306 Sociological Theories of Rural Transformations, morning or GEO-23306 Cultural and istorical Geography, afternoon
  • Period 6: LUP-33306 Methods for strategic planning, whole days in week 34-39 and LUP-32306 Studio strategic planning, whole days in weeks 40-43

For more information contact minor coordinator Dirk Roep: dirk.roep@wur.nl

Global nutrient fight: micronutrients and geopolitics – lecture and debate December 10

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Will monopolies, cartels and export restrictions define the future of your food?

RUW foundation will explore the world of the micronutrients in a lecture and debate featuring Wouter van der Weijden (director of CLM), Ellis Hoffland (WUR) en Petra Berkhout (LEI).

Venue: December 10, 2013 in the  Grand Café of the Forum building, starting at 19.30.

Free entrance and drinks afterwards.

GeopoliticsMicronutrients are irreplaceable and are essential for plant, animal and human health. Only about 4% of the world’s micronutrient stocks can be found in the EU (Platform LIS,2012). In the near future Europe will become dependent on other countries, including China, Chili, US, Turkey and Peru for the supply of micronutrients such as selenium and zinc for its agriculture. Find out how borders and international relations influence the struggle for micronutrient supply, how it will affect our food production and what options the EU has to ensure the availability of micronutrients.

Food Cultures and Customs: Food for Good in Action

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Food Cultures and Customs

The Rural Sociology Group coordinates a course called Food Cultures and Customs with the Philosophy Group.

The course is dedicated to examining the role that food plays in and across cultures. Food culture is understood to be the expression of how people value food and everything connected to food. As such, this course is an exploration into the ever changing social functions of food.

This means that we do not look at different cultures  and what they eat.  Instead, it entails an examination of the attitudes and assumptions that shape people’s lives; the rituals and beliefs that mark their identities; and the ways foods are grown, processed, sold and consumed in particular places. 

In this course we ask some big questions: Continue reading →