Description
How do environmental factors shape the ways we think about and practice politics? To what extent does an environment in crisis beget political crisis? How might political actors and institutions respond to the environmental crisis and why have responses been largely so tepid to date? In what ways does the environmental emergency intersect with, or perhaps exacerbate, perennial political concerns about power, equality, freedom, and justice?
Course objectives
Engaging with such questions, this course offers students an introduction to environmental politics. It begins by surveying dominant paradigms of thought – such as political ecology and ecological modernization – within the field. We then examine political challenges to these dominant outlooks, like environmental authoritarianism and eco-socialism. Following this, the course turns to issues of environmental inequality, exploring the ways in which resource inequities may track the legacies of colonialism and gender hierarchies. Finally, we explore various drivers of and impediments to political action, ranging from environmental social movements and calls for climate justice to apathy-inducing phenomena like eco-grief, guilt, and anxiety.
Mode of instruction
Lecture
Assessment method
Final Exam, 75-100% MC questions.
Reading list
See Brightspace
Registration
See 'Practical Information'
Timetable
See 'MyTimetable'