Geography 490STA - Rethinking US Envirnmt Policy

This course examines the ways US lands, waters and resources are organized by policies and law, how this has changed over time, and why. A key goal is creative and critical comparison: thinking about different ways land, waters, resources and policy have been organized, how and why this changed, and the consequences for the environment and people. We examine the historical and geographical interrelationships among: economic development; US territorial expansion; development of biophysical systems as economic resources; land use change; race, class, and the expropriation and exploitation of different peoples' lands, bodies and property; political mobilization to protect, conserve and clean the environment; demand for jobs and workers; and the ways land, water, property and environmental policies and laws changed in order to enable and address each of these. The course proceeds roughly historically, from early commercialization and industrialization of New England's lands and waters to present-day fights over energy infrastructure siting. Students will engage in thoughtful, critical, reflective conversations and writing; analyze policy and environmental change in one site in the Pioneer Valley; and experience environmental policy advocacy.