Reflections upon teaching complex topics: water, climate justice and health

At a time when access to safe, potable water has become officially a human right, the authors have developed and taught a water, justice and health module as part of a new MSc Climate Justice programme. The programme has both UK and international students from wide ranging backgrounds including engineering, environmental management, geography, social science, public health and community development. This means that each student brings different experiential filters to the topic and different expectations about the relevance of the topic to themselves and their future careers, to their own cultures and to the world in general.
Teaching and assessment methods, modes of delivery, expectations and outcomes for both staff and students are explored here and the question is raised as to whether a topic that is so complex, but which generated great interest for the students, was delivered effectively and what lessons could be learned from it.