Political Science 397EP - S-Envir Political Thought

With the current ecological crises, environmental thought and politics have boomed. Global climate change, energy debates, fracking, genetically modified organisms, have all become important political issues. Political theory helps problematize even the mundane, going beyond what we take for self-evident (including, for instance, "Nature"). In response to problems, theorists create concepts. One of the threads running through this class will concern the dualism nature/human, and how diverse environmentalists have addressed it critically. We will also be thinking critically of concepts that have been central to the rise of environmental theory: sustainability, renewability, de-growth, down-shifting, future generations, environmental racism.

Open to Senior, Junior and Sophomore POLISCI majors. Seniors any major with a background in Political Science may contact the Instructor to enroll into this course.