Climate Change and Disasters

Catalog description

Climate change is the most daunting ecological calamity facing all of humanity. This is a discussion-based course designed to evaluate the process of globalization and the political and economic forces therein that affect the environment, with particular focus on climate change and disasters. The course motivates students to critically evaluate the claims of various schools of thought on the relationship between globalization, climate, and the environment. In order to accomplish these objectives, we must first fully understand macro-sociological interpretations of development. In turn, we will extensively consider the interconnections among society, political-economic dynamics, the process of globalization, and natural systems (ecology). The successful integration of these themes depends heavily on your involvement in and preparation for class meetings. To that end, each student should dedicate her/him/themselves to devoting adequate time to contemplate the readings prior to each class meeting and structure thoughtful contributions to class discussion. The process of climate change is a complex web of cause, effect, and feedback among human and natural systems. Your experience in this class will be enhanced to the degree that you appreciate and interrogate the complex relationships that are the nexus of societal and environmental interactions.