Earth Systems Through a Soc & Envir Justice Lens

Catalog description

EARTH 200N Earth Systems through a Social and Environmental Justice Lens is an introduction to critical thinking about the intersectionality between environmental degradation and human harm. The course seeks to help students understand the relationships among lack of access (e.g., to credit, affordable housing, good schools, greenspace, healthcare, nutritious food, walkable streets), social factors (e.g, racism, poverty, unemployment), and environmental hazards (e.g., pollution, natural disasters, disease, heat islands, rising sea level, melting permafrost) for marginalized groups, and the institutional structures that support inequality. The course is designed to familiarize students with commonly misunderstood SJ topics such as race as a social (not biological) construct, historical racial inequality, and its present-day consequences (e.g., wealth and education gaps), environmental racism, the root causes of urban poverty, redlining, etc. Case studies will familiarize students with major environmental issues in each sphere (anthroposphere, biosphere, geosphere, hydrosphere, cryosphere, and atmosphere). In addition to academic content, research suggests that case studies help students make meaningful affective connections and practice empathy. The case studies presented in EARTH 200N show EJ issues from the perspective of marginalized groups that have organized to reduce inequalities. Students will learn the science underlying major environmental issues associated with exceeding Earth's planetary boundaries in areas such as biogeochemical cycling, climate change, chemical pollution, and freshwater use. The scale (local, regional, global) of various environmental issues will be discussed. EARTH 200N Earth Systems through a Social and Environmental Justice Lens is an interdomain course that integrates GN Earth systems science with GS social justice (SJ) and environmental justice (EJ). It has no prerequisites, and is designed for students who may not be familiar with the intersectionality between environmental degradation and human harm.