Environment and Society (212-0-1)
Instructors
Rebecca Ewert
Meeting Info
Harris Hall 107: Mon, Wed 11:00AM - 12:20PM
Overview of class
Our climate is rapidly changing. Rising sea levels and increasing ocean acidity, higher temperatures, more droughts, melting glaciers, wilder weather patterns, and mounting environmental disasters mean that climate change is increasingly visible in our daily lives. What role does human society play in these changes, and what consequences does society suffer as these changes occur? This course is an introduction to environmental sociology during which we will employ an intersectional, sociological perspective to look beyond the scientific basis for environmental problems to understand the social roots of environmental issues. We will cover a variety of topics in environmental sociology, including how actors such as corporations, the media, and social movements impact public opinion and environmental issues. Further, we will critically examine the gendered, racial, and socioeconomic production of disparate environmental risks. A primary, central focus of this sociology course is environmental inequality, and students engage with a wide range of theories to examine environmental issues of their own choosing. This is not a public policy course.
Learning Objectives
By the end of the course, students will be able to,
Course-Specific Goals:
1) Apply a sociological perspective to environmental issues,
2) Define core terms including environmental justice, environmental inequality, and environmental racism,
3) Examine the causes and consequences of, and potential solutions to, environmental issues, as they relate to human society,
4) Critically examine the socioeconomic production of disparate environmental risks,
5) Understand how individuals and communities mobilize in resistance to environmental inequality
Academic Development Goals:
1) Effectively communicate with classmates and instructors in a respectful manner
conducive of learning and collaboration.
2) Engage in critical, analytical thinking and writing.
3) Identify components of academic argument.
Evaluation Method
writing assignments, take-home midterm paper, final research paper
Class Materials (Required)
All materials for this course will be made available on Canvas - no purchase necessary.
Class Notes
There will be a required field trip for the course that will take place at the end of the quarter. Students will use data collected on their field trip to complete their final paper.
Class Attributes
Social and Behavioral Science Foundational Discipl
U.S. Perspectives on Power, Justice, and Equity
Social & Behavioral Sciences Distro Area