Critical Social Inquiry 0151 - Religion & Environmentalism

This course explores how cultures and religions influence theoretical and social concepts of nature and the environment. Efforts to preserve, protect and/or define natural spaces around the world shed insight into the development of the concept of environmentalism. Often equated in the global north with nature conservation and sustainable development, environmentalism takes different forms in various social and cultural settings. How people respond to environmental problems (and even how such problems are defined) can vary across class, ethnicity, geographic setting, and religious understandings. Through examining religious and cultural concepts of natural and social environments cross-culturally, diverse modes of thinking and acting will be examined through specific cases. Each student will design, research, and write (with a draft) an analytical paper on a related topic, in addition to several shorter essays.

Power, Community and Social Justice Multiple Cultural Perspectives Writing and Research Students are expected to spend at least six to eight hours a week of preparation and work outside of class time.