ENVS 111A: Environmental and Climate JusticeInstructor: Prakash Kashwan Prerequisites: None Course Description: This course is designed to inspire students develop a deep understanding of the ongoing efforts to pursue environmental and climate justice. The success of these efforts depends on whether the policies, programs, and behavioral changes that governments and climate activists are demanding address the root causes of environmental and climate crises, including colonialism, racism, extractivism, and their present-day manifestations. The climate crisis is also intimately connected to the urgent need to address several other environmental crises, e.g., the mass extinction of biodiversity; the crisis of industrial agriculture, and rapidly depleting freshwater resources. Civic energy and joyful solidarities are the principal tools that fuel transformative action. You will read, debate, and reflect on the works of scholars and activists with longstanding and meaningful engagements with Indigenous Peoples, women, non-binary persons, racial minorities, and socially and culturally marginalized groups. More broadly, this course makes use of enjoyable audio-visual resources, popular media articles, and carefully selected peer-reviewed articles written in an accessible language. By the end of the semester, you will develop a comprehensive approach grounded in the research and writings on environmental, climate, and ecological justice.This class offers well-structured opportunities to engage with others in the class through an online discussion forum designed to foster thoughtful conversations on key themes from each of the five modules: </br></br>1) Introduction: A Historical Understanding of the Root Causes of Climate Crisis; Demands for Climate Reparations; </br>2) Environmental Justice in the United States: Federal, Local, and Policy Initiatives; </br>3) Just Transition and the Pursuit of Energy Justice; </br>4) Food Sovereignty and Ecological Justice in the United States; </br>5) Justice in Climate Action: Lessons from Climate Movements. </br></br>Additionally, you will also have an opportunity to set up individual Zoom meetings with the professor. The class is being offered as an asynchronous online class, which means that students have the freedom to work on the course material at a pace that works best for them. To make the most of this course, you should plan to put in 9 hours of work per week. Please contact the professor if you would like additional information about the course. We look forward to inspiring and enriching deliberations on advancing environmental and climate justice. Session: Extended Day: Online Time: Asynchronous Credit Hours: 4 Credits Course Format: 10-week Asynchronous Online for Summer 2023 Brandeis Graduation Requirement Fulfilled: DEIS-US, DJW, SS Enrollment Limit: 20 students Course Classification: Undergraduate Level Course Course Tuition: $3,490 Course Fees: None Open to High School Students: No |
