Online textbook explores human security from a diversity of perspectives

Education Adjunct Professor Dr. Alexander Lautensach and co-editor Dr. Sabina Lautensach take a transdisciplinary approach in the latest edition of their open-access textbook, Human Security in World Affairs: Problems and Opportunities.

December 3, 2020
Dr. Alexander Lautensach and Dr. Sabina Lautensach
Adjunct Education Professor Dr. Alexander Lautensach and Dr. Sabina Lautensach co-edited the second edition of what is believed to be the first and only textbook of human security.

The latest edition of an open-access textbook co-edited by University of Northern British Columbia Education Adjunct Professor Dr. Alexander Lautensach is now online.

Dr. Lautensach and Dr. Sabina Lautensach are the co-editors of Human Security in World Affairs: Problems and Opportunities.

Believed by the editors to be the first and only textbook of human security, it is intended as an introductory text for senior undergraduate and graduate students. Co-published by BCcampus and UNBC, this second edition is designed for courses related to international studies and relations, political studies, history, human geography, anthropology and human ecology, futures studies, applied social studies, public health, and other fields.

“We are thrilled to over this book free of charge at a time when online course delivery is being prioritized and students are less able to afford hard copy text books,” Alexander Lautensach says. “We are grateful for the support we received from the Centre for Teaching, Learning & Technology at UNBC.”

Over the course of 22 chapters by authors from many disciplines, the book covers diverse topics including climate change and human security, human rights violations, human security and resource scarcity, transnational crime and much more.

“Since human security includes socio-political, economic, health-related as well as environmental aspects, only a transdisciplinary approach can address the topic adequately,” Alexander Lautensach says.