Institution: Syracuse University
Instructor: Becca Farnum
Description: This interdisciplinary course examines the reality of systemic environmental inequalities in the United States and globally, with particular attention to the experiences of Black, Indigenous, and People of Colour in the 21st century. Theoretical frameworks include environmental justice, ecofeminism, human-nature dualisms, agency, and intersectionality.
Climates of Resistance familiarises students with the myriad ways in which racism is manifested in contemporary environmental policy and practice — and the multiple means through which marginalised communities respond to and transform unjust realities.
The course begins by introducing the concepts of intersectionality and systemic injustice in order to help students position themselves within the reality of environmental racism and current structures. The course’s three main units are then structured around key pillars in environmental justice: distribution, recognition, and participation.
Ultimately, the course equips students to understand the (un)fairness of our current environmental system — and how both processes and outcomes might be changed.
Level: Undergraduate
Country: United States and United Kingdom
Syllabus: Climates of Resistance