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.
Campus offering
No unit offerings are currently available for this unit.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
Critically analyse the reciprocal relationship bet...
Learning Outcome 02
Contextualise environmental issues in relation to ...
Learning Outcome 03
Evaluate community, policy and institutional respo...
Learning Outcome 04
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.
20%
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.
40%
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.
40%
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.