Environmental Studies: Enviro-Political Theory

Intermediate courses of current areas of interest which vary each semester. Topics have included environmental health, energy, regional planning, international studies, literature, ethics, and natural area management. Prerequisite: One of the following: ENVS 1500, ENVS 1510, NR 1010, NR 1020, ENSC 1010.

This class will look at some of the foundational scholarship on the environmental movement and ecological perspectives from a political science viewpoint. Political science perspectives on the environment are relatively new with the first good scholarship coming in the 1980s. However, most of the significant work in the field has come since 1992. Much of the foundation literature is still relevant today. The goal is to get a firm foundational understanding of the early text and current important literature in environmental politics.

There is no assigned textbook for the class. Readings will be peer reviewed scholarly articles and other authored sources relevant to the study. These readings will be provided through the class Brightspace page. By the end of the class, you should have a solid foundation in the understanding of some of the theoretical underpinnings of environmental politics.

This class is an online class and will consist mostly of discussions of the readings. Students will be expected to be prepared to talk about the readings and how they relate to modern environmental efforts. Short writings will be required on all the readings and submit questions for discussion. Number of readings will be no more than 20 and maybe less than that.