Welcome to Sustainable Development: The Post-Capitalist Order!
Course Description:
Our present system of global capitalism is flawed. While it has produced immense wealth and economic growth in nearly all regions of the world, it has also prioritized profits over people and harmful consumption practices over the needs of our planet. Sustainable development must bring about a new world order to replace the vices of global capitalism, ensuring development, human wellbeing, and environmental security. This course presents Agenda 2030 and the Sustainable Development Goals as the necessary successor to laissez faire-style capitalism, and emphasizes the urgency of embracing sustainable development objectives to transform our economy into a more reactive, efficient, inclusive, and environmentally-conscious system.
This self-paced massive open online course (MOOC) provides an in-depth look at the shortcomings of our current and past global economies, and shows why and how sustainable development has become the universally-prioritized agenda for the future of our world. The topics covered range from market economics to education, gender equality, international trade, financing, and more.
This course is for:
- Policy professionals who want to understand frameworks for SDG planning
- Development practitioners seeking information on goals-based development
- Advanced undergraduates and graduate students interested in economics, development, and other key concepts related to the SDGs
What You'll Learn
- The benefits and pitfalls of global capitalism
- The history of economic growth, expansion of industries, and globalization
- The challenges of growth on a finite planet
- The main objectives of sustainable development and how they account for the shortcomings of the present capitalist system
- The world’s progress towards sustainable development and the road map forward
Structure
You can pace yourself in this course; it is fine to browse and watch to the extent of your time and interests permit. We encourage you to participate in discussions actively, as they provide an excellent opportunity, to interact with a larger audience - your peers - and get some great insights.
Estimated time commitment
3-5 hours per week if you go through all lectures and engagement activities.
Certificates
Learners who successfully complete the course may choose to purchase a Verified Certificate signed by Prof. Jeffrey Sachs. In order to successfully complete the course, learners must score an average of 70% or higher on the mid-term and final exams. In order to be eligible to purchase a Verified Certificate, you must achieve a 70% overall average grade (details on the "Grading" page). You may decide to purchase a Verified Certificate up to 10 days before the course closing date.
As a reminder, edX offers financial assistance to learners who need it. Learn more here.
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If you have questions at any point throughout the course, you can get in touch with us in the following ways:
- Course content issues (questions about assessments and lectures) should be emailed directly to sdgacademy@unsdsn.org, using the subject line "ASD Course."
- edX Technical issues should be directed to the Student Support Team via the Help button at the top of your screen.