SOC 386 - Environmental Sociology

This course explores the historical development, ongoing debates, and key theoretical frameworks that define environmental sociology. In the late 1960s and early 1970s a group of sociologists challenged the field to include societal-environmental interactions. They started from the premise that sociology had been established and was driven by human exceptionalism, viewing humans as categorically different from all other life and therefore immune from many environmental forces. They argued that society could not be properly understood without recognizing the natural environment. From this critique, environmental sociology emerged as a sub-discipline. The environmental sociologist seeks to understand the social foundations of environmental issues, asking questions about how consumption patterns, technologies, production systems, population changes, power dynamics, religion, and culture affect the emergence of, and reactions to, environmental problems. Environmental sociologists are also interested in how risks and harms are distributed across societies and produce environmental inequalities (environmental justice). This class will take a historical and applied approach to showcase the past, present and future of the sub-discipline as it relates to contemporary issues like biodiversity loss, climate change, pollution, and new energy technologies. Course materials will include academic and activist texts, film, photography, and art.

Prerequisites & Notes: Any course from: SOC 221, SOC 234, SOC 251, SOC 255, SOC 260, SOC 268, SOC 269, SOC 271 or instructor permission.
Credits: 5
Grade Mode: Letter