Environmental Sociology

In this course we will explore the complex relations between society and the environment. We will look not at the science of nature, but rather its social construction, including environmental history, ethics, and politics. Our primary themes will be ideas and power. First, we will examine the dominant understanding of "nature" in the Modern era as well as alternatives that arose in opposition to this conception. Second, we will study how control over the non-human, material world originally developed in the United States, viewed through the lens of various social and political movements that have attempted to change that dynamic. (SOAN 0103 or 0105) 3 hrs. lect/disc.