Friday, September 30, 2011

MIT OPENCOURSEWARE 2011: Feminist Political Thought


Feminist Political Thought

As taught in: Spring 2010

A drawing shows a young girl scolding a boy. Underneath there is a poem that reads "For the work of a day, for the taxes we pay, for the laws we obey, we want something to say."
A postcard from 1913 depicts a cartoon of a girl scolding a boy about women not being allowed to vote.  Suffrage is discussed in session #3. (Image courtesy of the Library of Congress.)

Instructors:

Prof. Elizabeth A. Wood

MIT Course Number:

SP.601J / 17.006 / 24.237 / WGS.601J

Level:

Undergraduate

Course Features

Course Description

In this course we will examine the development of feminist theory over time. Some subjects we will examine in detail include suffrage and equality; radical feminism; psychoanalysis and feminism; theories of power; sexuality and gender; embodied knowledge; pornography; identities and global feminism; militarism; and the welfare state. Throughout the course we will analyze different ways of looking at power and political culture in modern societies, issues of race and class, poverty and welfare, sexuality and morality.

Syllabus

Course Meeting Times

Seminar: 1 session / week, 3 hours / session

Assignments

Students are responsible for:
  • Each week's reading
  • 2-3 page weekly response paper
  • Co-leadership of one class, providing questions for discussion that day
  • 10-12 page research paper
  • Class presentation
We will also experiment with the forms in which we write. Students may choose to write their response papers in the form of letters to the editor and/or op-ed pieces.

Grading

ACTIVITiesPERCENTAGEs
Class participation and leading discussion20%
Eight response papers40%
Research paper and presentation40%
 

Calendar

SES #TOPICS
1Introduction to the course
2What is feminist theory?
3Suffrage and equality
4Materialist feminism
Guest lecturer: Anne McCants, Professor, History Department, MIT
5Feminism and difference
6Power and identity
7Sexuality and gender
8Embodied knowledge
Guest speaker: Ian Smith, Student Activist, MIT
9Pornography, rape, and the politics of consent
Guest speaker: Rae Langton, Professor, Linguistics and Philosophy Department, MIT
10Gender and the welfare system
Guest speaker: Andrea Campbell, Professor, Political Science Department, MIT
11Gender and militarism
12Final presentations
13Identities and global feminism
14Third wave feminism and wrap-up discussion
 

Readings

Required Books

[Feminist Theory] = Amazon logo Kolmar, Wendy K., and Frances Bartkowski. Feminist Theory: A Reader. New York: McGraw Hill, 2009. ISBN: 9780073512266.
[Exile and Pride] = Amazon logo Clare, Eli. Exile and Pride: Disability, Queerness and Liberation. Cambridge, MA: South End Press, 1999. ISBN: 9780896086050.
[Curious Feminist] = Amazon logo Enloe, Cynthia. The Curious Feminist: Searching for Women in a New Age of Empire. Berkeley: University of California Press, 2004. ISBN: 9780520243811.
[Theorizing Feminisms] = Amazon logo Hackett, Elizabeth and Sally Haslanger. Theorizing Feminisms. New York: Oxford University Press, 2005, pp. 187-88. ISBN: 9780195150094.
SES #TOPICSREADINGS
1Introduction to the courseNo readings
2What is feminist theory?[Feminist Theory] pp. 2-54.
[Curious Feminist] Chapters 1-5; pp. 1-10, 69-82.
McIntosh, Peggy. "White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack." In Working Paper 189. White Privilege and Male Privilege: A Personal Account of Coming to See Correspondence through Work in Women's Studies, 1988. (This resource may not render correctly in a screen reader.PDF)
Amazon logo Parker, Pat. "For the White Person Who Wants to Know How to Be My Friend." In Making Face, Making Soul. Edited by Gloria Anzaldua. San Francisco, Aunt Lute Books, 1995. ISBN: 9781879960107.
Amazon logo Uttal, Lynet. "Nods That Silence." In Making Face, Making Soul. Edited by Gloria Anzaldua. San Francisco, Aunt Lute Books, 1995. ISBN: 9781879960107.
Amazon logo Lorde, Audre. "I Am Your Sister: Black Women Organizing Across Sexualities." In Making Face, Making Soul. Edited by Gloria Anzaldua. San Francisco, Aunt Lute Books, 1995. ISBN: 9781879960107.
3Suffrage and equality[Feminist Theory] pp. 60-90, 93-100, 104-9, 201-210.
Addams, Jane. "Women and Public Housekeeping." In [Theorizing Feminisms] pp. 187-88.
Amazon logo Young, Iris M. "Five Faces of Oppression." In Justice and the Politics of Difference. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1990. pp. 3-15. ISBN: 9780691023151. (This resource may not render correctly in a screen reader.PDF)
4Materialist feminism[Feminist Theory] pp. 90-92, 100-4, 109-22, 126-27, 299-307, 211-14, 230-44. (Engels, Gilman, Emma Goldman, Mother Jones, Kollontai, Eastman, Margaret Sanger, Heidi Hartmann, Charlotte Bunch, Gayle Rubin, "Traffic in Women".)
Amazon logo Folbre, Nancy. The Invisible Heart: Economics and Family Values. New York, The New Press, 2002. Chapters 1-2; pp. 3-52. ISBN: 9781565847477.
5Feminism and difference[Feminist Theory] pp. 128-58, 215-21, 260-90, 312-19. (Stella Browne, Joan Riviere, Virginia Woolf, Karen Horney, Margaret Mead, Simone de Beauvoir, Helene Cixous, Luce Irigaray, Nancy Chodorow, Mary Daly, Marilyn Frye, Audre Lorde, Monique Wittig, Carol Gilligan.)
Young, Iris. "Humanism, Gynecentrism, and Feminist Politics." In [Theorizing Feminisms] pp. 174-87.
6Power and identity[Feminist Theory] pp. 160-201, 245-48, 388-97. (Betty Friedan, Mary Douglas, NOW, Valerie Solanas, Kate Millett, "Redstockings Manifesto" (1969), Mary Ann Weathers, Anne Koedt, Pauli Murray, Radicalesbians, Older Women's League (OWL.)
MacKinnon, Catherine. "Difference and Dominance." In [Theorizing Feminisms] pp. 244-55.
7Sexuality and gender identity[Feminist Theory] pp. 209-97, 327-32, 413-23, 434-42, 502-7, 516-22. (Adrienne Rich, Carole Vance, Catherine MacKinnon, Judith Butler, Judith Halberstam, Anne Fausto-Sterling.)
Rubin, Gayle. "Thinking Sex: Notes for a Radical Theory of the Politics of Sexuality." In [Theorizing Feminisms] pp. 527-40.
8Embodied knowledge[Exile and Pride] pp. 1-40, 67-138.
Kadi, Joanna. "Stupidity 'Deconstructed'." In [Theorizing Feminisms] pp. 40-50.
[Feminist Theory] pp. 529-40. (Rosemarie Garland-Thomson.)
9Pornography, rape, and the politics of consentStoltenberg, John. "Confronting Pornography as a Civil Rights Issue." In [Theorizing Feminisms] pp. 298-310.
Duggan, Lisa, Nan Hunter, and Carole S. Vance. "False Promises: Feminist Antipornography Legislation in the U.S." In [Theorizing Feminisms] pp. 311-24. (This resource may not render correctly in a screen reader.PDF - 1.2MB)
Marcus, Susan. "Fighting Bodies, Fighting Words: A Theory and Politics of Rape Prevention." In [Theorizing Feminisms] pp. 368-81.
Langton, Rae. "Speech Acts and Unspeakable Acts." Philosophy and Public Affairs 22 (1993): 293-330. (This resource may not render correctly in a screen reader.PDF)
10Gender and the welfare systemFraser, Nancy and Linda Gordon. "A Genealogy of Dependency: Tracing a Keyword of the U.S. Welfare State." Signs 19, no. 2 (1994): 309-36.
Amazon logo Lubiano, Wahneema. "Black Ladies, Welfare Queens, and State Minstrels: Ideological War by Narrative Means." In Race-ing Justice, En-gendering Power. Edited by Toni Morrison. New York, NY: Pantheon, 1992, pp. 323-63. ISBN: 9780679741459.
Amazon logo Crittenden, Ann. "How Mothers' Work Was 'Disappeared'." and "The Welfare State Versus a Caring State." In The Price of Motherhood. New York: Holt, 2002, pp. 45-64, 186-201. ISBN: 9780805066197.
11Gender and militarism[Feminist Theory] pp. 508-15. (Cynthia Enloe)
Amazon logo Cohn, Carol. "Sex and Death in the Rational World of Defense Intellectuals." In Feminist Theory in Practice and Process. Edited by Micheline R. Malson, Jean F. O'Barr, and Sarah Westphal-Wihl, and Mary Wyer. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1991. pp. 107-138. ISBN: 9780226502946.
[Curious Feminist] Chapters 7-10, 13, 15-16, pp. 99-144, 152-54, 193-232.
12Final presentationsNo readings
13Identities and global feminism[Feminist Theory] pp. 221-25, 319-26, 362-68, 397-401, 407-12, 466-69, 491-98, 533-61. (Fatima Mernissi, Chandra Mohanty, Gloria Anzaldua, Vandana Shiva, Ynestra King, Beijing Platform, Uma Narayan, Saba Mahmood.)
[Curious Feminist] Chapters 2-4, 17, 19, pp. 19-68, 233-36, 268-305.
14Third wave feminism and wrap-up discussion[Feminist Theory] pp. 442-53, 469-72, 474-90, 499-501, 522-23, 541-45. (Patricia Hill Collins, Angela Davis, Winona LaDuke, Third Wave feminists, Kimberle Crenshaw, Griselda Pollock, Baumgardner and Richards, Joanne Barker.)
 

Assignments

Research Paper: Feminist Theory & Current Life

Your mission, should you accept it, is to take a current or relatively recent set of events or topic of concern that has been in the media and think about how the issues of feminism come to bear on this topic.
What are the feminist theory angles in your topic? How has the media portrayed your topic? How can theories about gender and language or gender and performance or the ideological formations relating to sexuality (to take a few examples) help us better understand real conflicts and politics in the world today? What can theory tell us about what observers have and have not understood about your topic?
The papers should be 10-15 pages in length, double-spaced.
Possible Topics:
  • Prostitution and morality
  • Chromosomes and gender identification
  • Work and family studies
  • The reform of welfare
  • Paternity/maternity issues in childrearing and/or divorce
  • Global organizing of women's labor
  • Pornography and the Internet
  • Women and military service
  • Race, class and gender in the 2008 election campaigns
  • Women's body image
  • Discrimination against people who don't conform to the dominant beauty ideal
  • Date rape and other issues of violence against women on college campuses
  • Women in sports: Title IX
  • Can men be feminists?
  • Women and credit in the Third World
  • Femininity, masculinity and political leadership

Resources for paper topics

Shah, Anup. "Women's Rights." Global Issues: Social, Political, Economic, and Environmental Issues That Affect Us All. March 14, 2010.
Abortion Conservation Project, Inc.
Pro+Choice Forum

Pedagogy

My philosophy of teaching is based in the notion of student-centered learning. My working hypothesis is that students can learn most effectively when they feel a direct need to take in new material, digest it thoroughly, and integrate it into their understanding of the world.
Accordingly, my goal is to provide readings that will challenge students to think about the world around them in new ways, whether to open their eyes to the suffering associated with poverty or to introduce them to the global interconnectedness in sneaker production. I ask them to analyze thorny issues such as pornography, free speech, and the protection of women; the evolution of motherhood and the devaluation of women's work in the home; the politics and practices of the welfare state; the challenges and dilemmas of militarism for women's participation in the body politic, and so on.
Recently, I have asked students to learn practical forms of writing as well: how to write a letter to the editor and an opinion piece and how to analyze the materials they are reading from a feminist theory perspective. Letters to the editor and op-ed pieces can empower students to feel that their views matter; and, writing such pieces can encourage students to research a topic thoroughly so that they have all the information at their fingertips. The world we live in has grown so complicated that it more than ever requires everyone to add his or her voice, to demonstrate a sense of citizenship through careful attention to issues and to communicate those insights and understanding.
 
 

Related Resources

Internet Resources

Shah, Anup. "Women's Rights." Global Issues: Social, Political, Economic, and Environmental Issues That Affect Us All. March 14, 2010.
Abortion Conservation Project, Inc.
Pro+Choice Forum

Boston-Area Public Service Learning Opportunities

The My Life My Choice Project
An initiative designed to reach adolescent girls most vulnerable to commercial sexual exploitation
Cambridge Commission on the Status of Women
A city department that works to promote equality and justice for all women and girls and advocates on their behalf with other city departments and officials
Rosie's Place
Offers long-term and emergency assistance to poor and homeless women who have nowhere else to turn
Teen Voices & Women Express
An organization that supports and educates teen girls to create social change through media and writing
Barakat
Improves the well-being of marginalized groups in South and Central Asian by increasing access to quality education and a healthy environment
Science Club for Girls
Increases the science literacy of girls from Kindergarten through 12th grade by providing free programs in hands-on learning, mentorship, and leadership
Project Have Hope
Works with a group of 100 women by helping to improve the quality of their lives
ReVision Urban Farm
Provides fresh, affordable and locally grown produce to families in the city with limited resources
Fenway Community Health
Enhances the wellbeing of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community and all people through access to health care, education, research, and advocacy
Crittenton Women's Union
Helps low-income women achieve economic independence
Nutrition Education Outreach Project
Fights hunger and teaches families nutrition skills in the Boston area.
United South End Settlements
Provides comprehensive programs that address the needs of individuals and families, from infants to seniors
Ministries of Aides International, Inc.
Offers diverse programs such as basic computer classes, resume building classes, job placement, translation services, and ESL courses
The Second Step
Offers a comprehensive program for survivors of domestic violence
 
 

Download Course Materials




This package contains the same content as the online version of the course.
For help downloading and using course materials, read our frequently asked questions.

MIT OPENCOURSEWARE 2011: Physical Intelligence



Physical Intelligence

As taught in: January IAP 2002

People walking through snow-covered woods.
Walking, which represents an extraordinarily complex coordination of actions, is one of the topics explored in the course. (Image courtesy of Flickr.com. Photo by Juliebee.)

Instructors:

Noah Riskin

MIT Course Number:

PE.910

Level:

Undergraduate

Course Description

For all of the bodies attached to the many great minds that walk the Institute's halls, in the work that goes on at MIT the body is present as an object of study, but is all but unrecognized as an important dimension of our intelligence and experience. Yet the body is the basis of our experience in the world; it is the very foundation on which cognitive intelligence is built. Using the MIT gymnastics gym as our laboratory, the Physical Intelligence activity will take an innovative, hands-on approach to explore the kinesthetic intelligence of the body as applicable to a wide range of disciplines. Via exercises, activities, readings and discussions designed to excavate our physical experience, we will not only develop balance, agility, flexibility and strength, but a deep appreciation for the inherent unity of mind and body that suggests physical intelligence as a powerful complement to cognitive intelligence.

Syllabus

Course Meeting Times

Lectures: 2 sessions / week for 5 weeks, 1 hour / session

Course Description

Physical Intelligence classes take an experiential approach to the investigation and application of our innate ability to learn physical skills. Philosophically, the curriculum is founded on the premise that physical education is more than strength training, flexibility and aerobic fitness; physical education is also the development of our ability to access and benefit from the physical intelligence of the human organism.
The core of the Physical Intelligence program is a three-semester curriculum that uses the MIT gymnastics gym as a laboratory to introduce and develop physical intelligence, and then to apply the experience to academic pursuits. Selected readings and discussions combine with experience-based learning leading not only to the development of balance, agility, flexibility and strength, but to a deep appreciation for the reciprocity of mind and body that suggests physical intelligence as a powerful complement to cognitive intelligence.
In the research that takes place at MIT the body is present as an object of study but is all but unrecognized as an important dimension of our intelligence and experience. Yet the body is the very basis of our experience in the world; it is the very foundation on which cognitive intelligence is built. Though we appear to move beyond such physical learning early in life, our thinking, learning and understanding are constantly referencing this experiential base, aptly reflected in the Mens et Manus motto of the Institute.

About the Instructor

Noah Riskin

Noah Riskin studied painting and trained in gymnastics at Ohio State University, 1981-86. In 1985 he shared the NCAA national title on the parallel bars with his identical twin, Seth, and led Ohio State to its first NCAA Team Championship. In 1986 he received his BFA degree.
Noah continued his athletic career to become a US Men's National Gymnastics Team member, and a national and international champion. In 1993, as a Merit Scholar, he received his MFA from The School of the Art Institute of Chicago. And, from 1994-97 he was a research affiliate and fellow at the MIT Center for Advanced Visual Studies. 1998-2000 Noah was Faculty in the Integrated Media and Dance Departments at The California Institute of the Arts where he developed and taught "Technology and the Body," a three course curriculum exploring the meeting of technology and the body for performance.
Noah has presented his art and lectures at venues as diverse as the Center for Contemporary Art, Warsaw, Poland, the MIT Artificial Intelligence Laboratory, the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics at Harvard University, and the Exploratorium in San Francisco. He has taught at Tufts University, The School of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, The Rhode Island School of Design, The California Institute of the Arts, and MIT.
Currently, Noah continues his art, research and teaching as the Head Men’s Gymnastics Coach, Physical Education Instructor, co-Director of the DAPER/Edgerton Center's d'Arbeloff High-speed Imaging Grant Project at MIT, and creator of the Physical Intelligence Initiative.
This summer, as a resident fellow at the Northwood University Alden B. Dow Creativity Center, Noah is pursuing his artwork and research on the subject of twins, leading to the production of Gemini, a performance scheduled for November '96 at P.S. 122 in New York as part of a Franklin Furnace "emerging artists" performance series.
 
 

Calendar

SES #TOPICSKEY DATES
1What is Physical Intelligence?
2Orientation in Relation to GravityActivities: "Meeting Gravity" and "The Art of Falling"
3PerceptionActivity: "Mapping Perception"
4ProprioceptionActivity: "Exploring a Sense of Weight"
5Spatial PerceptionField Trip: Brandeis University

Activity: "Spatial Perception: Our Sense of an 'Outside' World"
6Complex CoordinationField Trip: MIT Leg Laboratory

Activity: "Walk This Way"
7Learning and DevelopmentField Trip: MIT Day Care

Activity: "A World of Objects"
8E-motionActivity: "Fear Factor"
9"Tooling"Activity: "Technological Innovation: Physical Problem Solving"
10FlightActivity: "A Thousand Words"

MIT OPENCOURSEWARE 2011: Global Climate Change: Economics, Science, and Policy

 

Global Climate Change: Economics, Science, and Policy

As taught in: Spring 2008

Two pie charts, the left showing temperature increases from 3-4 to 6-8 degrees Celsius, and the right showing increases from 1-2 to 3-4 degrees.
Comparison of likely temperature increases over 1990-2100 with no policy (left), and stabilization of greenhouse gases at 550pm CO2 equivalents (right). (Figure from the MIT Joint Program on the Science and Policy of Global Change.)

Instructors:

Eunjee Lee
(Teaching Assistant)
Prof. Henry Jacoby
Prof. Mort Webster
Prof. Ronald Prinn
Travis Franck
(Teaching Assistant)

MIT Course Number:

15.023J / 12.848J / ESD.128J

Level:

Graduate

Course Features

Course Description

This class introduces scientific, economic, and ecological issues underlying the threat of global climate change, and the institutions engaged in negotiating an international response. It also develops an integrated approach to analysis of climate change processes, and assessment of proposed policy measures, drawing on research and model development within the MIT Joint Program on the Science and Policy of Global Change.

Syllabus

Course Meeting Times

Lectures: 2 sessions / week, 1.5 hours / session

Calendar

SES #TOPICSKEY DATES
1Introduction and overview 
2Institutions I: political and analytical organizations 
3Review of the mathematics of climate analysis 
4Climate I: past climate, and gases, aerosols and radiationHomework 1 distributed
5Economics primer 
6Climate II: dynamics of the atmosphere and oceans 
7Economics of the global commonsHomework 1 due
Homework 2 distributed
8Economics I: economic growth, technology and greenhouse gas emissions 
9Institutions II: the international climate negotiations 
10Economics II: the economics of greenhouse gas emissions control 
11Introduction to the Toy Integrated Global System Model 
12Climate III: interaction of atmosphere, oceans and biosphereHomework 2 due
Homework 3 distributed
13Analysis of the benefits of greenhouse gas mitigation 
14Economics III: climate policy analysis 
15Emissions trading and tax systems 
16Climate machine IV: regional impacts of climate change 
17Review of methods of uncertainty analysisHomework 3 due
Homework 4 distributed
Policy exercise distributed
18Integrated assessment I: sensitivity and uncertainty analysis 
19Sea level rise and adaptation 
20Methods for decision under uncertaintyPolicy exercise: preliminary note due
21Integrated assessment II: deciding global effort and burden sharesHomework 4 due
22Climate change and the Arctic region 
23Climate V: unresolved problems in climate analysis 
24Discussion of homework sets and the policy exercise 
25Student team presentationsPolicy exercise: final memo and report due
26Final summary and discussion 

Grading

ACTIVITIESPERCENTAGES
Homework (15% each)60%
Team project 110%
Team project 225%
Class participation5%
 
 

Readings

SES #TOPICSREADINGS
1Introduction and overview 
2Institutions I: political and analytical organizationsUniting on Climate: A Guide to the Climate Change Convention and the Kyoto Protocol. United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), 2007, pp. 7-38. (This resource may not render correctly in a screen reader.PDF - 3.7 MB)
Summary for Policymakers, Climate Change 2007: Synthesis Report. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), Fourth Assessment Report. (This resource may not render correctly in a screen reader.PDF - 1.9 MB)
3Review of the mathematics of climate analysis 
4Climate I: past climate, and gases, aerosols and radiationKarl, Thomas R., and Kevin E. Trenberth. "Modern Global Climate Change." Science 302 (2003): 1719-1723.
Amazon logo Prinn, Ronald. "Non-CO2 Greenhouse Gases." In The Global Carbon Cycle: Integrating Humans, Climate, and the Natural World. Edited by Christopher Field and Michael Raupach. Washington, DC: Island Press, 2004. ISBN: 9781559635271.
Summary for Policymakers, Climate Change 2007: The Physical Science Basis. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, Working Group I, Fourth Assessment Report, pp. 1-17. (This resource may not render correctly in a screen reader.PDF - 3.7 MB)
Andreae, Meinrat, Chris Jones, and Peter Cox. "Strong Present-Day Aerosol Cooling Implies a Hot Future." Nature 435 (2005): 1187-1190.
5Economics primerAmazon logo Callan, Scott, and Janet Thomas. Environmental Economics and Management: Theory, Policy and Applications. 4th ed. Florence, KY: South-Western, 2006, chapter 2. ISBN: 9780324320671.
Amazon logo Kolstad, Charles. Environmental Economics. New York, NY: Oxford University Press, 1999, chapter 4, pp. 49-77. ISBN: 9780195119541.
6Climate II: dynamics of the atmosphere and oceansAmazon logo Schneider, Stephen. "Introduction to Climate Modeling." In Climate System Modeling. Edited by Kevin Trenberth. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 1993, pp. 3-26. ISBN: 9780521432313.
Hansen, James, et al. "Earth's Energy Imbalance: Confirmation and Implications." Science 308 (2005): 1431-1435.
Penner, Joyce. "Climate Change: The Cloud Conundrum." Nature 432 (2004): 962-963.
7Economics of the global commonsThe Economics of Climate Change: A Primer. US Congressional Budget Office, 2003, chapter 3. (This resource may not render correctly in a screen reader.PDF - 2.9 MB)
Amazon logo Callan, Scott, and Janet Thomas. Environmental Economics and Management: Theory, Policy and Applications. 4th ed. Florence, KY: South-Western, 2006, chapter 3. ISBN: 9780324320671.
8Economics I: economic growth, technology and greenhouse gas emissionsThe Economics of Climate Change: A Primer. US Congressional Budget Office, 2003, chapters 1, 3, and 4. (This resource may not render correctly in a screen reader.PDF - 2.9 MB)
Amazon logo Weyant, J. "Economic Models: How They Work and Why Their Results Differ." In Climate Change: Science, Strategies, and Solutions. Edited by Eileen Clausen. Washington, DC: Pew Center on Global Climate Change, 2001. ISBN: 9789004122765.
9Institutions II: the international climate negotiationsAmazon logo Jacoby, Henry, and David Reiner. "Getting Climate on Track after The Hague: An Update." Chapter 15 in The Global Governance Reader: Concepts and Issues. Edited by Rorden Wilkinson. New York, NY: Routledge, 2005. ISBN: 9780415332064.
Thirteenth Session of the Conference of the Parties to the FCCC and Third Sessions of the MOP to the Kyoto Protocol, 3-15 December. Pew Center on Global Climate Change, 2007.
Bali Action Plan, Decision -/CP.13. Framework Convention on Climate Change, December 2007. (Also skim the COP-13 items at UNFCCC)
10Economics II: the economics of greenhouse gas emissions controlAmazon logo Pizer, William. "Choosing Price or Quantity Controls for Greenhouse Gases." In Climate Change Economics and Policy: An RFF Anthology. Washington, DC: Resources for the Future, 2001. ISBN: 9781891853043.
"The Role of Coal in Energy Growth and CO2 Emissions." Chapter 2 in The Future of Coal: Options for a Carbon-Constrained World. PDF available at The Future of Coal.
McKinsey Greenhouse Gas Reports: McKinsey has several different reports related to greenhouse gas reduction. This site has related links and full reports: McKinsey & Company
Executive Summary, Reducing U.S. Greenhouse Gas Emissions: How Much at What Cost? McKinsey & Company, 2007. (This resource may not render correctly in a screen reader.PDF)
Amazon logo Jaffe, Adam, Richard Newell, and Robert Stavins. "Energy-Efficient Technologies and Climate Change Policies: Issues and Evidence." In Climate Change Economics and Policy: An RFF Anthology. Washington, DC: Resources for the Future, 2001. ISBN: 9781891853043.
Babiker, Mustafa, John Reilly, and Henry Jacoby. "The Kyoto Protocol and Developing Countries." MIT Joint Program on the Science and Policy of Global Change, Report No. 56, October 1999. (This resource may not render correctly in a screen reader.PDF)
11Introduction to the Toy Integrated Global System Model 
12Climate III: interaction of atmosphere, oceans and biospherePrinn, Ronald, et al. "Integrated Global System Model for Climate Policy Assessment: Feedbacks and Sensitivity Studies." Climatic Change 41 (1999): 469-546, sections 1, 2 and 3.
Sokolov, A. P., et al. "The MIT Integrated Global System Model (IGSM) Version 2: Model Description and Baseline Evaluation." MIT Joint Program on the Science and Policy of Global Change, Report No. 124, July 2005. (This resource may not render correctly in a screen reader.PDF - 1.4 MB)
13Analysis of the benefits of greenhouse gas mitigationAmazon logo Nordhaus, William, and Joseph Boyer. Warming the World: Economic Models of Global Warming. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 2003, chapter 4. ISBN: 9780262640541.
Amazon logo Stern, Nicholas. "Economic Modeling of Climate Change Impacts." Chapter 6 in The Economics of Climate Change: The Stern Review. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 2007. ISBN: 9780521700801.
Oppenheimer, Michael. "Defining Dangerous Anthropogenic Interference: The Role of Science, the Limits of Science." Risk Analysis 25 (2005): 1399-1407.
14Economics III: climate policy analysisAmazon logo Nordhaus, William, and Joseph Boyer. Warming the World: Economic Models of Global Warming. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 2003, chapter 7. ISBN: 9780262640541.
Executive Summary, Scenarios of Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Anthropogenic Concentrations. U.S. Climate Change Science Program, Synthesis and Assessment Product 2.1a, 2007. (This resource may not render correctly in a screen reader.PDF)
Toth, Ferenc, et al. "Exploring Options for Global Climate Policy: A New Analytical Framework." Environment 44 (2002): 23-33.
15Emissions trading and tax systemsEllerman, A. Denny, Paul Joskow, and David Harrison, Jr. "Emissions Trading in the U.S.: Experience, Lessons and Considerations for Greenhouse Gases." Washington, DC: Pew Center for Global Climate Change. (This resource may not render correctly in a screen reader.PDF)
Paltsev, Sergey, et al. "Assessment of U.S. GHG Cap-and-Trade Proposals." Climate Policy 8 (2008): 395-420.
Parry, Ian, and William Pizer. "Combating Global Warming: Is Taxation or Cap-and-Trade a Better Strategy for Reducing Greenhouse Emissions?" Regulation 30 (2007): 18-22.
16Climate machine IV: regional impacts of climate changeTalbot, David. "Planning for a Climate-Changed World." Technology Review, May-June 2007, pp. 63-70.
Amazon logo National Assessment Synthesis Team, U.S. Global Change Research Program. Climate Change Impacts on the United States. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 2001, pp. 1-37. ISBN: 9780521000758.
Summary for Policymakers, Climate Change 2007: Impacts, Adaptation and Vulnerability. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, Working Group II, Fourth Assessment Report. (This resource may not render correctly in a screen reader.PDF)
Stroeve, Julienne, et al. "Arctic Sea Ice Extent Plummets in 2007." EOS Transactions of the American Geophysical Union 89 (2008): 13-14.
Tedesco, Marco. "A New Record in 2007 for Melting in Greenland." EOS Transactions of the American Geophysical Union 88 (2007): 383.
Wolff, Eric. "Whither Antarctic Sea Ice?" Science 302 (2003): 1164.
Whitfield, John. "Alaska's Climate: Too Hot to Handle." Nature 425 (2003): 338-339.
17Review of methods of uncertainty analysis
18Integrated assessment I: sensitivity and uncertainty analysisPrinn, Ronald, et al. "Integrated Global System Model for Climate Policy Assessment: Feedbacks and Sensitivity Studies." Climatic Change 41 (1999): 469-546, sections 4 and 5.
Webster, Mort, et al. "Uncertainty Analysis of Climate Change and Policy Response." Climatic Change 61 (2003): 295-320.
Forest, Chris, Peter Stone, and Andrei Sokolov. "Estimated PDFs of Climate System Properties Including Natural and Anthropogenic Forcings." Geophysical Research Letters 33 (2006): 1-4.
Webster, Mort. "Communicating Climate Change Uncertainty to Policy-Makers and the Public." Climatic Change 61 (2003): 1-8.
19Sea level rise and adaptationGibbons, Sheila J. Arenstam, and Robert J. Nicholls. "Island Abandoment and Sea-Level Rise: An Historical Analog from the Chesapeake Bay, USA." Global Environmental Change 16 (2006): 40-47.
Chao, B. F., Y. H. Wu, and Y. S. Li. "Impact of Artificial Reservoir Water Impoundment on Global Sea Level." Science 320 (2008): 212-214.
20Methods for decision under uncertainty 
21Integrated assessment II: deciding global effort and burden sharesWebster, Mort, Lisa Jakobovitz, and James Norton. "Learning about Climate Change and Implications for Near-Term Policy." Climatic Change 89 (2008): 67-85.
Amazon logo Aldy, Joseph, and Robert Stavins. "Introduction: International Policy Architecture for Global Climate Change." Chapter 1 in Architectures for Agreement: Addressing Global Climate Change in the Post-Kyoto World. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 2007. ISBN: 9780521692175.
22Climate change and the Arctic regionBunn, Andrew, et al. "Northern High-Latitude Ecosystems Respond to Climate Change." EOS Transactions of the American Geophysical Union 88 (2007): 333-335.
Amazon logo Arctic Climate Impact Assessment. Highlights Brochure, Impacts of a Warming Arctic. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 2004, pp. 1-16. ISBN: 9780521617789.
23Climate V: unresolved problems in climate analysisKerr, Richard. "Confronting the Bogeyman of the Climate System." Science 310 (2005): 432-433.
Harvell, C. Drew, et al. "Climate Warming and Disease Risks for Terrestrial and Marine Biota." Science 296 (2002): 2158-2162.
Kerr, Richard. "A Bit of Icy Antarctica Is Sliding Toward the Sea." Science 305 (2004): 1897.
Morton, Oliver. "Is This What it Takes to Save the World?" Nature 447 (2007): 132-136.
Mann, Michael, et al. "Atlantic Tropical Cyclones Revisited." EOS Transactions of the American Geophysical Union 88 (2007): 349.
Emanuel, Kerry. "Increasing Destructiveness of Tropical Cyclones Over the Past 30 Years." Nature 436 (2005): 686-688.
Schiermeier, Quirin. "Clear Skies Raise Global-Warming Estimates." Nature 435 (2005): 1142-1143.
24Discussion of homework sets and the policy exercise 
25Student team presentations 
26Final summary and discussion 
 

Lecture Notes

SES #TOPICSLECTURE NOTES
1Introduction and overview(PDF)
2Institutions I: political and analytical organizations(PDF - 1.0 MB)
3Review of the mathematics of climate analysis(PDF)
4Climate I: past climate, and gases, aerosols and radiation(PDF - 1.3 MB)
5Economics primer(PDF)
6Climate II: dynamics of the atmosphere and oceans(PDF - 1.1 MB)
7Economics of the global commons(PDF)
8Economics I: economic growth, technology and greenhouse gas emissions(PDF)
9Institutions II: the international climate negotiations(PDF)
10Economics II: the economics of greenhouse gas emissions control(PDF)
11Introduction to the Toy Integrated Global System Model 
12Climate III: interaction of atmosphere, oceans and biosphere(PDF - 1.2 MB)
13Analysis of the benefits of greenhouse gas mitigation(PDF)
14Economics III: climate policy analysis(PDF)
15Emissions trading and tax systems(PDF)
16Climate machine IV: regional impacts of climate change(PDF - 3.2 MB)
17Review of methods of uncertainty analysis(PDF)
18Integrated assessment I: sensitivity and uncertainty analysis(PDF)
19Sea level rise and adaptation(PDF - 2.6 MB)
20Methods for decision under uncertainty(PDF)
21Integrated assessment II: deciding global effort and burden shares 
22Climate change and the Arctic region 
23Climate V: unresolved problems in climate analysis(PDF - 2.9 MB)
24Discussion of homework sets and the policy exercise 
25Student team presentations 
26Final summary and discussion 
 

Assignments

This section contains the problem sets and policy exercise. Note that the model software needed for problem set 4 could not be made available on MIT OpenCourseWare.
ASSIGNMENTSSUPPORTING FILES
Problem set 1 (PDF) 
Problem set 2 (PDF)Sample worksheet (XLS)
Problem set 3 (PDF)Sample worksheet (XLS)
Problem set 4 (PDF) 
Policy exercise (PDF) 
 

Download Course Materials




This package contains the same content as the online version of the course.
For help downloading and using course materials, read our frequently asked questions.