Unit rationale, description and aim

Environmental issues are amongst the most pressing of our time. Escalating environmental crises like global warming, deforestation, biodiversity loss, plastics and chemical pollution all have social causes as well as social consequences, particularly for poor and marginalised communities. Understanding the reciprocal relationship between human society and the natural environment is essential if we are to develop a deep appreciation of contemporary environmental challenges and formulate potential solutions that are just and fair for all.

This unit introduces students to environmental sociology, a sub-discipline that studies the relationship between human societies and the environment. We consider how social inequalities and power shape human/non-human relations; the influence of socio-cultural values on our relationships with the environment; the role of institutions and economic systems; why certain environmental issues are identified as social problems and others aren’t; and the origins and impacts of movements seeking environmental justice like Indigenous activism. Specific attention will be paid to why meaningful action on the environment has yet to materialise and what a sustainable future might look like.

The aim of this unit is to introduce students to key concepts, theories and debates in environmental sociology and equip them to critically analyse contemporary environmental problems from a sociological perspective.

2026 10

Campus offering

No unit offerings are currently available for this unit.

Prerequisites

Nil

Learning outcomes

To successfully complete this unit you will be able to demonstrate you have achieved the learning outcomes (LO) detailed in the below table.

Each outcome is informed by a number of graduate capabilities (GC) to ensure your work in this, and every unit, is part of a larger goal of graduating from ACU with the attributes of insight, empathy, imagination and impact.

Explore the graduate capabilities.

Identify key concepts, theories and perspectives i...

Learning Outcome 01

Identify key concepts, theories and perspectives in environmental sociology.
Relevant Graduate Capabilities: GC1, GC11

Critically analyse the reciprocal relationship bet...

Learning Outcome 02

Critically analyse the reciprocal relationship between human society and the natural environment.
Relevant Graduate Capabilities: GC2, GC3, GC7, GC11, GC12

Contextualise environmental issues in relation to ...

Learning Outcome 03

Contextualise environmental issues in relation to social inequalities and power.
Relevant Graduate Capabilities: GC5, GC6, GC7, GC9, GC11, GC12

Evaluate community, policy and institutional respo...

Learning Outcome 04

Evaluate community, policy and institutional responses to environmental problems.
Relevant Graduate Capabilities: GC2, GC3, GC6, GC11

Content

Topics may include:

  • Theories and concepts in environmental sociology
  • The nature/society divide
  • Political ecology
  • Consumption and growth in capitalism
  • Environmental (in)justice
  • Colonialism and the environment
  • Global environmental inequality
  • Environmental classism
  • Environmental racism 
  • Eco-feminism
  • Climate action
  • Sustainability
  • Human-animal relations
  • Environmental social movements
  • Deep ecology
  • Post-materialism
  • Lifestyle and culture change

Assessment strategy and rationale

The assessment strategy allows students to engage in a variety of tasks, each aligned with the learning outcomes. In Assessment Task 1: Reflective Task, students will write a reflection on their ‘ecological footprint’ and contextualise this in relation to local and global social inequalities and relations of power. The purpose of this task is for students to think about socio-environmental connections in their own life and identify a lifestyle change/set of changes they will focus on in the Environmental Change (A2) task.

In Assessment Task 2: Environmental Change Task, students will keep a diary of lifestyle change/s they have made to reduce their environmental footprint and/or promote positive social change for the environment and present it to the class as an oral or poster presentation. The purpose of this task is for students to critically reflect on the social and cultural changes necessary for meaningful action on environmental issues.

In Assessment Task 3: Case Study, students will write a report on a local environmental issue that contextualises it as a social problem and evaluates community, policy and/or institutional responses to it. The purpose of this task is for students to apply the environmental sociology theories, concepts and perspectives they have learnt to a real-life case study of environmental (in)justice. 

Overview of assessments

Assessment Task 1: Reflective Task Students will...

Assessment Task 1: Reflective Task

Students will write a reflection on their ‘ecological footprint’ and contextualise this in relation to social inequalities and relations of power, both globally and locally.

Weighting

20%

Learning Outcomes LO1, LO2
Graduate Capabilities GC1, GC2, GC3, GC7, GC11, GC12

Assessment Task 2: Environmental Change Task Stu...

Assessment Task 2: Environmental Change Task

Students will keep a diary of lifestyle change/s they have made to reduce their environmental footprint and/or promote positive social change for the environment and present it to the class as an oral or poster presentation.

Weighting

40%

Learning Outcomes LO2, LO3
Graduate Capabilities GC2, GC3, GC5, GC6, GC7, GC9, GC11, GC12

Assessment Task 3: Case Study Students will wri...

Assessment Task 3: Case Study

Students will write a report on a local environmental issue that contextualises it as a social problem and evaluates community, policy and/or institutional responses to it.

Weighting

40%

Learning Outcomes LO3, LO4
Graduate Capabilities GC2, GC3, GC5, GC6, GC7, GC9, GC11, GC12

Learning and teaching strategy and rationale

This unit engages students in active learning activities, such as reading, writing, discussion and problem-solving to promote analysis, synthesis and evaluation of class content in the context of lectures where ideas are presented to students and tutorials to be explored and discussed. As part of developing their ‘sociological imagination’, students use case studies to explore how what they have learned applies to real world issues, contexts, circumstances and situations.

Representative texts and references

Representative texts and references

Armiero, M. and Sedrez, L. (Eds) 2014. A History of Environmentalism: Local Struggles, Global Histories. London: Bloomsbury.

Bostroem, M. and D.J. Davidson. (Eds) 2018. Environment and Society: Concepts and Challenges. Cham: Palgrave Macmillan.

Davies, T. and A. Mah. (Eds) 2020. Toxic Truths: Environmental Justice and Citizen Science in a Post-Truth Age. Manchester: Manchester University Press.

Everard, M. 2021. The Ecology of Everyday Things. Oxon: Taylor & Francis/CRC Press

Gould, K. and T. Lewis. 2020. Twenty Lessons in Environmental Sociology; 3rd Edition. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Hannigan, J. 2023. Environmental Sociology. 4th edition. Oxon & New York: Routledge.

King, L. and D, Auriffeille. 2020. Environmental Sociology: From Analysis to Action, 4th edition. Lanham: Rowman & Littlefield Publishing.

Pellow, D.N. 2018. What Is Critical Environmental Justice? Cambridge: Polity.

Stuart, D. 2021. What is Environmental Sociology? Cambridge: Polity.

The Carbon Almanac Network (2022) The Carbon Almanac: It’s Not Too Late. London: Penguin Publishing.

Locations
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