Study Programmes 2016-2017
ENVT3028-1  
Citizen science
Duration :
36h Th
Number of credits :
Master en agroécologie, à finalité4
Master in environmental science and management (120 ECTS)4
Master in environmental science and management (60 ECTS)4
Lecturer :
François Melard, Pierre M. Stassart
Coordinator :
Pierre M. Stassart
Language(s) of instruction :
French language
Organisation and examination :
Teaching in the first semester, review in January
Units courses prerequisite and corequisite :
Prerequisite or corequisite units are presented within each program
Learning unit contents :
This course on Citizen science proceeds from a reflection on old and new experiments on the place citizens from inside the scientific activity to activism.
The course deals with several issues:
  • a presentation of the controversy on the place of the public in the emergence of new forms of knowledge and actions between sciences and societies.
  • an introduction on the emergence and the development of alternative practices to more conventional scientific activity (Community-based-Science); and more precisely on distributed monitoring practices (Community-based-Monitoring), as in the fields of noise and olfactive pollutions, biodiversity, or electromagnetic fields management).
This seminar will be the occasion to meet experts or witnesses of concrete experiments of monitoring of local environments and their articulation to regional, national or international public policies.
Learning outcomes of the learning unit :
Prerequisite knowledge and skills :
There are no prerequisites
Planned learning activities and teaching methods :
Elaborations on the basis of scientific litteratures and professional and amateur practioners.
Mode of delivery (face-to-face ; distance-learning) :
Face-to-face
Recommended or required readings :
Conrad, C. C., & Hilchey, K. G. (2011). A review of citizen science and community-based environmental monitoring: issues and opportunities. Environmental Monitoring and Assessement(176), 273-291.
Charvolin, F. (2010). La réussite du programme Feederwatch vue par les profanes : un compte-rendu critique. Des sciences citoyennes? : la question de l'amateur dans les sciences naturalistes. F. Charvolin, A. Micoud and L. K. Nyhart. La Tour-d'Aigues, France, Aube: 202-218.   
Whatmore, S. J. and C. Landström (2011). "Flood apprentices: an exercise in making things public." Economy and Society 40(4): 582-610.
Assessment methods and criteria :
Written report.
Work placement(s) :
Organizational remarks :
Contacts :
François Mélard - f.melard@ulg.ac.be Tél.: 063/230 901
Pierre Stassart - p.stassart@ulg.ac.be Tél.: 063/230 901