SOAN 035. Environmental Justice: Ethnography, Politics, Action

(Cross-listed as ENVS 035)
Intro to the history and theory of environmental justice, an interdisciplinary field that examines how inequalities based on race, class, ethnicity, and gender shape how people are impacted by environmental problems and how they advocate for social and environmental change. Drawing on the social sciences, natural sciences, and the arts & humanities, we critically examine the conceptual divisions between “nature and society,” “urban and rural,” and the “community and the planet.” We analyze the history of the widely used concept of “sustainability” focusing on the ways it has been used in different cultural and urban contexts. We investigate some of the challenges facing cities as they implement sustainability initiatives and try to avoid “green gentrification.” We explore the promise of urban areas as important centers for supporting the flourishing of diverse, equitable, and ecologically sustainable communities.  We will learn from grassroots leaders working to transform their own communities through initiatives including organizing for public health & wellbeing, urban agriculture & food sovereignty, renewable energy & community solar, and community arts & social change. Includes a community-based learning component working with a local environmental justice organization.
Social sciences.
1 credit.
Eligible for ENVS, ESCH, PEAC
Fall 2023. Di Chiro.
Fall 2024. Di Chiro.
Fall 2025. Di Chiro.
Catalog chapter: Sociology and Anthropology
Department website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/sociology-anthropology

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