by Dr Kim Smith, OPEN Fellow
Offered by sociology professor and OPEN Fellow, Dr. Kim Smith, Introduction to Environmental Sociology provides an overview of the core structural and cultural variables that shape our world. Using regional, national, and international examples, students will gain insights on historical and current sustainability issues, as well as learn how to analyze them and make a difference.
This course examines the relationship between societies and the environment, with a focus on how industrialization and our increasing demand for natural resources have significantly impacted the planet’s ability to meet the needs of humanity and other species. We will explore the structural and cultural causes and consequences of such topics as production, consumption, population, development, pollution, materialism, inequality, and environmental justice and how to respond to these issues through policies and actions. Hopefully, this course will help students develop their “sociological imagination,” increase students’ awareness about environmental issues and human behaviors and attitudes, and enable them to critically evaluate sociological solutions related to the natural and social worlds.
The course is on-line, so students can participate from anywhere. There is still room in this 10-week class, which starts next Monday, June 25, so be sure to register soon.