SOCA2065

Environment and Society

Faculty of Education and Arts School of Humanities and Social Science

10 Units 2000 Level Course

Not available in 2012

Previously offered in 2013

Develops a sociological approach to environmental issues. Deals critically with environmental controversies within social science, within the environmental movement and within society at large. Key areas are environmental problems of present society, ecologically sustainable technologies and strategies for moving to a sustainable society; gender and the environment; indigenous peoples, Aborigines and the environment; deep ecology; socialist and anarchist approaches; the environment in developing countries. The course covers aspects of the Key Learning Area (KLA) of Human Society and Its Environment for primary and high school teachers.

Objectives

On successful completion of this course students will be able to demonstrate:
1. An understanding of a sociological approach to environmental issues and controversies.
2. Ability to analyse and deal critically with environmental perspectives as instances of social theory.
3. Ability to consider a range of sociological interpretations of environmental problems.
4. Skills in writing an academic essay, in reading critically and in doing research.

Content

1. Environmental problems today and the response of major social institutions. How do people, governments and environmentalists respond to environmental problems?
2. Environmental technologies and the social context of implementation - includes two field trips. Are alternative technologies viable in today's economy?
3. Aborigines, indigenous peoples and environmental issues. Were indigenous technologies of the past environmentally sustainable?
4. The social movements associated with environmentalism - eco-feminism; deep ecology; social ecology; socialist environmentalism. What reforms and utopias do these movements propose?
5. The developing world and environmental issues. How does the world economic structure contribute to environmental problems in developing countries?

Replacing Course(s)

SOCA3060 Environment and Society.

Transition

Students who have successfully completed SOCA3060 Environment and Society will not be able to enrol in this course.

Industrial Experience

Assumed Knowledge

40 units of study at 1000 level.

Modes of Delivery

Flexible Delivery / Student Centred Learning
Internal Mode

Teaching Methods

Email Discussion Group
Field Study
Lecture
Self Directed Learning
Tutorial

Assessment Items

Essays / Written Assignments

First essay, 2,500 words, Weighting 40%