Join our postgraduate students on a CAT teaching week and delve into the roles power, policy, agency, and economic structures have in creating and shaping our response to the environmental crises we face. 

You will experience what it might be like to study on one of our postgraduate courses at CAT and using an interdisciplinary, critical approach examine how unequal power relations have been constructed and their environmental and societal consequences. 

Key Information 

• Duration: five days 
• Upcoming dates: Monday 2 – Friday 6 February 2026
• Start and finish times: starts at 10am and ends at 3pm on the last day 
• Fees: £700 
• Includes: tuition, all materials, lunch (accommodation can be booked separately)  
• What to bring: good boots and waterproof clothing is advised 
• Terms and Conditions: 

  • You must be 18 years or over to attend our courses. 
  • For full list of terms and conditions click here 

Attendees will receive a certificate of attendance for joining the course at the end of the week. If attendees wish to enrol on a postgraduate course at CAT and take the module within their future course, they will be able to receive a discount on tuition costs. 

Who is this course aimed at?  

This week is aimed at people who wish to have a taster of studying at postgraduate level at CAT, with an interest in how politics shapes the causes and our response to the climate and biodiversity emergency. 

What you will learn 

During this short course participants will look at the theoretical underpinnings to understanding the importance of political and economic systems to transformational change by drawing on historic social and environmental debates and events. 

Topics covered includes: 

• Political and economic tools for change. 
• Environmental justice and inequalities. 
• Environment and systems change across global, national, and local scales. 
• Realising alternative economic futures. 
• Theoretical tools for understanding environmental problems and acting on them.

How will I learn 

Through pre-reading and some pre-recorded introductory lectures, live in person lectures, discussions, group activities and practical activities at CAT and on field trips.   

This short course is part of the teaching week for the MSc module Introduction to Politics and Economics of Environment. 

Please be aware there may be some activities and content during the week only available to students, where an activity isn’t appropriate for the short course attendee, we will endeavour to arrange a replacement activity. 

Tutors 

Dr Emily Westwell

Emily joined the Graduate School to teach in 2023 and covers a range of MSc modules as a senior lecturer. She recently completed a PhD from Keele University which explored environmental activism, agroecology, and food sovereignty. 

Sam Saville

Sam is an alumnus and former lecturer of the Graduate School who returned to CAT in 2021 as a senior lecturer. She returns from a decade of academic geography as a passionate learning facilitator with research specialisms in value systems, nature-culture relations, polar and rural regions, globalization and participative research.