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Credits: 3 Fall 2012: Not Offered |
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In this seminar we explore global environmental issues from a perspective that foregrounds questions of social justice. The field of environmental justice asks for fair treatment of all people regardless of race, ethnicity, gender, economic capacity, national origin, and education level with respect to environmental politics and their implementations. In this and other aspects, the environmental justice perspective differs from traditional environmental philosophies in that it seeks to combine a concern for the natural world with a consciousness of ethnic, class, and gender discrimination. From this vantage point it is argued that throughout the world there are marked and increasing disparities between those who have access to clean and safe resources and those who do not. This course is based on two fundamental premises: All individuals and communities, regardless of their social or economic conditions, have the right to a clean and healthy environment; and there is a connection between environmental exploitation, human exploitation, and social justice. With these premises as a starting point, we first define “What is environmental justice?” Then we turn to more difficult questions such as: Why and through what political, social, and economic processes are some people denied this basic right to a clean and safe environment? The course draws on both international and domestic case studies.
