ENVS 111A: Environmental and Climate JusticeInstructor: Prakash Kashwan Prerequisites: None Course Description: This course is designed to inspire students to deeply understand 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 the rapid depletion of 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. This course uses enjoyable audio-visual resources, popular media articles, and carefully selected peer-reviewed articles written in an accessible language. </br></br>By the end of the semester, you will develop a comprehensive approach grounded in the research and writings on environmental, climate, and ecological justice. By the end of this class, you should be able to:</br>1. Understand and articulate the historical and international dimensions of the climate crisis and its impacts.</br>2. Explain the evolution and impact of the environmental justice movement and policies in the United States</br>3. Assess the justice implications of energy and urban transition.</br>4. Evaluate how policy processes and social movements might advance climate justice.</br></br>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. You will also be able to seek individual Zoom meetings with the professor. Session: Extended Day: Online Time: Asynchronous Credit Hours: 4 Credits Course Format: 10-week Asynchronous Online format Brandeis Graduation Requirement Fulfilled: DEIS-US, DJW, SS Enrollment Limit: 25 students Course Classification: Undergraduate Level Course Course Tuition: $3,700 Course Fees: None Open to High School Students: Yes |
