Environment & Society

Tree

The goal of this course is to familiarize students with the subfield of environmental sociology. Following recent natural disasters, such as those in Indonesia, New Orleans and Haiti, researchers have been reminded that patterns of human settlement and inequality make such catastrophes as much social disasters as they are “natural.” As such, this course will apply sociological inquiry to environmental issues. This course examines the intersection between different types of environments and social life.

This syllabus is set up for both introductory and upper-level courses in environmental sociology. All introductory readings come from:

Gould, Kenneth A., and Tammy L. Lewis. 2008. Twenty Lessons in Environmental Sociology. New York: Oxford University Press.

Additional optional readings include selections from:

Bell, Michael M. 2011. An Invitation to Environmental Sociology. Fourth Edition. Sage.

Course outline

I. Introductions

Introductory Readings

  • Gould & Lewis, Chapter 1

Advanced Readings

Optional Readings
  • Buttel, F. H. 1987. “New Directions in Environmental Sociology.” Annual Review of Sociology 13:465–88.
  • Dunlap, Riley E., and William R. Catton. 1983. “What Environmental Sociologists Have in Common (whether Concerned with ‘Built’ or ‘Natural’ Environments).” Sociological Inquiry 53(2-3):113–35.
  • Foster, John Bellamy. 2002. “Environmental Sociology and the Environmental Revolution.” Organization & Environment 15(1):55-58.
  • “Chapter 1” in Bell, Michael M. 2011. An Invitation to Environmental Sociology. 4th Edition. Sage.

II. Theories

Introductory Readings

  • Gould & Lewis, Chapter 2 and 3

Advanced Readings

Optional Readings
  • Cronon, William. 1993. “The Uses of Environmental History.” Environmental History Review 17(3):1–22.
  • Baber, Zaheer. 1994. “Beyond Hyper-Constructivist Fads and Foibles: Toward a Critical Sociology of Science, Technology and the Environment.” Critical Sociology 20(2):125.
  • Demeritt, David. 2002. “What Is the ‘Social Construction of Nature’? A Typology and Sympathetic Critique.” Progress in Human Geography 26(6):767–90.
  • Moore, Jason W. 2000. “Environmental Crises and the Metabolic Rift in World-Historical Perspective.” Organization & Environment 13(2):123–57.
  • “Chapter 8” in Bell, Michael M. 2011. An Invitation to Environmental Sociology. 4th Edition. Sage.

III. Systemic Causes

Introductory Readings

  • Gould & Lewis, Chapter 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9

Advanced Readings

Optional Readings
  • Moore, D. S. 1993. “Contesting Terrain in Zimbabwe’s Eastern Highlands: Political Ecology, Ethnography, and Peasant Resource Struggles.” Economic Geography 69(4):380–401.
  • “Chapter 2” in Bell, Michael M. 2011. An Invitation to Environmental Sociology. 4th Edition. Sage.
  • “Chapter 3” in Bell, Michael M. 2011. An Invitation to Environmental Sociology. 4th Edition. Sage.
  • “Chapter 4” in Bell, Michael M. 2011. An Invitation to Environmental Sociology. 4th Edition. Sage.

IV. Systemic Consequences

Introductory Readings

  • Gould & Lewis, Chapter 10, 11, 12, 13, 14

Advanced Readings

Optional Readings
  • Alagona, Peter S. 2006. “What Makes a Disaster ‘Natural’?” Space and Culture 9(1):77 –79.
  • Brosius, J. Peter. 1997. “Endangered Forest, Endangered People: Environmentalist Representations of Indigenous Knowledge.” Human Ecology 25(1):47–69.
  • “Chapter 5” in Bell, Michael M. 2011. An Invitation to Environmental Sociology. 4th Edition. Sage.

V. Responses

Introductory Readings

  • Gould & Lewis, Chapter 15, 16, 17, 18, 19

Advanced Readings

Optional Readings

  • Bezmez, D. 2008. “The Politics of Urban Waterfront Regeneration: The Case of Haliç (the Golden Horn), Istanbul.” International Journal of Urban and Regional Research 32(4):815–40.
  • Erdik, Mustafa, and Eser Durukal. 2008. “Earthquake Risk and Its Mitigation in Istanbul.” Natural Hazards 44(2):181–97.
  • “Chapter 9” in Bell, Michael M. 2011. An Invitation to Environmental Sociology. 4th Edition. Sage.

VI. Conclusions

Introductory Readings

  • Gould & Lewis, Chapter 20

Advanced Readings

Optional Readings
“Chapter 11” in Bell, Michael M. 2011. An Invitation to Environmental Sociology. 4th Edition. Sage.