The technology we need most badly is the technology of community—the knowledge about how to cooperate to get things done. There is no way forward, at least if we’re serious about preventing the worst ecological nightmares, that doesn’t involve working together politically to make changes deep enough and rapid enough to matter.
Bill McKibben, NY Review of Books, Nov 16, 2006: 25
Gloucester, MA
Environmental Sociology examines the interaction between nature and society—how lives are shaped by environmental conditions and, in turn, how social decisions impact the environment. We explore the role of government, the economy, and social institutions in causing and/or addressing environmental crises. We also study how social inequalities (class, race, gender, ethnicity) operate in the creation and aftermath of environmental disasters. We define environmental justice and consider how it might be realized.
Environmental Sociology is an elective course in both the Environment and Society minor and the forthcoming Climate Change/Sustainability minors. Both minors are supported by UML’s Climate Change Initiative www.uml.edu/centers/climate-change/
STANDARDS AND CRITERIA