Hybridizing sustainability: towards a new praxis for the present human predicament

Benessia, Alice; Funtowicz, Silvio; Ferri, Francesca; Ráez-Luna, Ernesto; Medina, Charito P.

doi:10.1007/s11625-011-0150-4

Cited by 66 publications

(70 citation statements)

References 37 publications

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“…It is argued that the transience terms of most engineering academic projects do not match the long-term relationship and capacity building required for meaningful participatory engagement and transformational change (Benessia et al, 2012) Furthermore, engineering education (EE) is usually structured around the search for specific technological solutions. Engineers have traditionally separated themselves from their work, as this was considered appropriate when the types of problems engineers were dealing with were well-structured, technological problems (Walther et al 2012).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Transdisciplinarity in higher education for sustainability: How discourses are approached in engineering education

Papell¹,

Coral²,

Rosas-Casals³

2018

Journal of Cleaner Production

171

103

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Sustainability issues, as unwanted results of not fully respecting natural cycles, are widely recognized as wicked problems, which should not be thought of as problems to be solved, but rather as "conditions" to be managed, as if they were a chronic disease (Seager et al., 2011). There exists a general agreement on the need to reform scientific expertise by developing new ways of knowledge production and decision-making able to cope with the challenges sustainability poses. In this sense, transdisciplinary aspects of sustainability are acknowledged as a transformational stream of sustainability science.Transdisciplinarity is considered a competence for sustainability in technological curriculums. Nevertheless, engineering education professionals tread on unfamiliar ground when entering transdisciplinarity approach, as it includes social sciences and humanities perspectives. Advancing sustainable engineering science requires creating new long-term, participatory, solution-oriented programs as platforms to recognize and engage with the macro-ethical, adaptive and cross-disciplinary challenges embedded in professional issues.Meanwhile, individual university professors and researchers take a step forward to try out innovative experiences in their classrooms to deal with complexity and reach holism in fostering knowledge in different ways. This paper analyses first what is being done and how is it being focused, and second, What are the strategies for and purposes of implementing transdisciplinary experiences in engineering higher education.Assuming that distinct patterns of definition of transdisciplinary exists, the authors collated transdisciplinary initiatives in engineering education for sustainability from Thompson Klein (2014) discourses on transdisciplinarity: transcendence, problem solving and transgression. They also explored how practical constraints imposed by a classroom context, highlighted the limits of transdisciplinarity, and offered suggestions on improvements, which could be implemented. Balsiger (2014) proposes four varieties of transdisciplinarity (soft, hard, inclusive and reflexive) to identify ways for moving from one type to another as circumstances change, in terms of stakeholder's collaboration and knowledge integration possibilities.The methodology consisted in literature review of articles published in relevant journals in the field of sustainability, which focussed on transdisciplinarity approaches in engineering education. We have analysed how the different initiatives fit in Klein's discourses on ACCEPTED MANUSCRIPT transdisciplinarity. Moreover, an affinity analysis has been performed to cluster transdisciplinarity initiatives in engineering education for sustainability in homogeneous groups. Finally, in the varieties of transdisciplinarity framework, the experiences identified when reviewing the literature have been spread over the range among Balsiger's taxonomy.The investigation indicates that most transdisciplinary initiatives in technological education for sustainability ...

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Transdisciplinarity in higher education for sustainability: How discourses are approached in engineering education

Papell¹,

Coral²,

Rosas-Casals³

2018

Journal of Cleaner Production

171

103

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

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“…The demonstration of vagueness echoes the discourse on contested values embedded in the concept of sustainability (e.g. Bell and Morse 2000), and is a strength of the approach because the human experience of 'what constitutes sustainability' cannot be fully internalised in, and represented by, a model. In contrast, an exact measure of sustainability would be paradoxical, and unlikely to be meaningful for practical decision-making; in fact, it is illogical to answer a fuzzy question ('what constitutes sustainability?')…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 80%

“…Kane 1999). In the following, we review some of the core issues-many arise from the relations between science and values that are frequently contested and ill-defined (Carrier 2008;Allenby and Sarewitz 2011;Meyer 2011;Benessia et al 2012).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Assessing the sustainability of wheat-based cropping systems using simulation modelling: sustainability = 42?

et al. 2013

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Concepts of agricultural sustainability and possible roles of simulation modelling for characterising sustainability were explored by conducting, and reflecting on, a sustainability assessment of rain-fed wheat-based systems in the Middle East and North Africa region. We designed a goal-oriented, model-based framework using the cropping systems model Agricultural Production Systems sIMulator (APSIM). For the assessment, valid (rather than true or false) sustainability goals and indicators were identified for the target system. System-specific vagueness was depicted in sustainability polygons-a system property derived from highly quantitative data-and denoted using descriptive quantifiers. Diagnostic evaluations of alternative tillage practices demonstrated the utility of the framework to quantify key bio-physical and chemical constraints to sustainability. Here, we argue that sustainability is a vague, emergent system property of often wicked complexity that arises out of more fundamental elements and processes. A 'wicked concept of sustainability' acknowledges the breadth of the human experience of sustainability, which cannot be internalised in a model. To achieve socially desirable sustainability goals, our model-based approach can inform reflective evaluation processes that connect with the needs and values of agricultural decision-makers. Hence, it can help to frame meaningful discussions, from which actions might emerge.

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“…The article concludes with recommendations for successful collaboration within the framework of sustainability science, including pragmatic methods for knowledge integration, multi-year collaborations, inclusive communication, and impact assessments of collaborations. The article by Benessia et al (2012) critically reflects on the current dominant concept of sustainability science and outlines an innovative conceptualization through a plurality of epistemologies, languages, styles of research, experiences, and actions. The article explores a scenario in which sustainability is fruitfully hybridized with a plurality of artistic and cultural expressions and modes of experience-based knowledge; this hybrid is suggested as a new kind of collective diagnose and praxis for addressing sustainability challenges.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Sustainability science: bridging the gap between science and society

et al. 2012

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Hybridizing sustainability: towards a new praxis for the present human predicament

Cited by 66 publications

References 37 publications

Transdisciplinarity in higher education for sustainability: How discourses are approached in engineering education

Transdisciplinarity in higher education for sustainability: How discourses are approached in engineering education

Assessing the sustainability of wheat-based cropping systems using simulation modelling: sustainability = 42?

Sustainability science: bridging the gap between science and society

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