Environment and Society

Catalog description

There is no relationship more important to society than the one we have with our natural environment. From how we extract natural resources necessary for everyday life to where we put our waste products, from how we produce our food to where we go on vacation, our dependence on and perceptions of the environment are fundamental to every aspect of our lives. This course focuses on society-environment relations across the globe. We begin by reading about and discussing some conceptual issues that are central to our understanding of society-environment relations. These include the concept of sustainability, environmental resources, political economy, social construction of nature, and environmental justice. We then examine several important society-environment relations, including energy use, agriculture and food, and conservation.