Integrated Program in the Environment
Concentration in Environmental Ethics and Justice (Bachelor of Arts in Environmental and Sustainability Studies)
Students on Summer 2019, Fall 2019, or Spring 2020 requirements ENVETJSCON
The Environmental Ethics and Justice concentration emphasizes the role of the environmental humanities and social sciences in understanding and analyzing the relationships between humans and the environments of which we are a part. Environmental ethics focuses on ethical arguments governing human interaction with the nonhuman environment and the moral status of nonhuman entities such as animals, plants, species, and ecosystems. Environmental justice studies examines the political, legal, and symbolic actions involved in equal access to a healthy environment and environmental protection, as well as the ways environmental justice advocates challenge injustices. Students in this concentration will gain familiarity with, and critically evaluate, the strengths and weaknesses of contemporary approaches to environmental ethics and environmental justice. These may include, but are not limited to: animal rights and liberation, holistic environmental approaches, religion and ecology, feminist environmental ethics, environmental justice struggles of communities, and public advocacy of climate justice. Students also will learn to apply traditional ethical theories to environmental issues, as well as environmental justice concepts about culture, identity, discourse, agency, and legal rights.
Requirements
The concentration requires at least 12 credit hours, including the requirements listed below.
- Core Courses. Two (2) courses:
- ANTH-E 444 People and Protected Areas: Theories of Conservation
- ENG-L 219 Introduction to Environmental Literature
- HIST-J 300 Writing In History (Approved topics: "NORTH AMERICAN ENVIRONMENTAL HISTORY" (TPC 152))
- GEOG-G 341 Ecological Restoration: Science, Politics, and Ethics
- INTL-I 428 Social Justice and the Environment (Approved topics: "ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE" (TPC 1))
- SPEA-V 424 Environmental Law, Justice, and Politics
- SPH-V 360 Environmental Justice and the Anthropocene
ANTH-E 444 People and Protected Areas: Theories of Conservation
- Credits
- 3
- Prerequisites
- None
- Description
- Seminar course that explores major theories and approaches to conservation, from "fortress conservation" to community-based and participatory strategies. Considers the implications of protected areas for local human populations and cultural diversity. Evaluates outcomes and unintended consequences of protected areas, and controversies over the "best" way to protect natural resources.
- Fall 2025CASE DUScourseSummer 2025CASE DUScourse
- Fall 2025CASE SHcourseSummer 2025CASE SHcourse
- Fall 2025CASE SLcourseSummer 2025CASE SLcourse
ENG-L 219 Introduction to Environmental Literature
- Credits
- 3
- Prerequisites
- None
- Description
- Introduces the critical study of environmental writing in anglophone literature, covering texts in multiple genres and modes and examining how literature shapes and intersects with environmental awareness, thinking, and justice. May explore nature writing, science writing, ecopoetry, Cli-Fi, among other genres.
- Fall 2025CASE AHcourseSummer 2025CASE AHcourse
- Fall 2025CASE SLcourseSummer 2025CASE SLcourse
HIST-J 300 Writing In History
- Credits
- 3
- Prerequisites
- None
- Description
- Develops students' writing skills in history; focuses on the skills of interpretation, historical reasoning, and discussion.
- Repeatability
- May be repeated with a different topic and the authorization of the history undergraduate advisor for a total of 6 credit hours.
- Fall 2025CASE SHcourseSummer 2025CASE SHcourse
GEOG-G 341 Ecological Restoration: Science, Politics, and Ethics
- Credits
- 3
- Prerequisites
- None
- Description
- Can humans restore ecosystems and undo the environmental harm they have caused? To what state/extent should ecosystems be restored? What drives the ecological restoration movement? Investigates the deeply interconnected history, philosophy, ecology, geomorphology, and political economy of restoration through readings, discussions, and fieldwork.
- Fall 2025CASE SHcourseSummer 2025CASE SHcourse
INTL-I 428 Social Justice and the Environment
- Credits
- 3
- Prerequisites
- None
- Description
- Interdisciplinary study of comparative environmental justice issues around the world.
- Repeatability
- May be repeated with a different topic for a maximum of 12 credit hours.
SPEA-V 424 Environmental Law, Justice, and Politics
- Description
- An introduction to U.S. environmental politics and policy, focusing on the institutions and political actors involved in environmental protection. It emphasizes the difficult political, economic, and social justice questions that arise in the context of managing current and future public health and ecological risks.
- Additional information
- Credit hour, prerequisite, and other information cannot be displayed for this course. If this is a course outside of the College of Arts and Sciences, please see the appropriate school's bulletin for additional information.
SPH-V 360 Environmental Justice and the Anthropocene
- Description
- Environmental justice exists to the extent that all people regardless of race, income, or other social differences enjoy the same degree of protection from environmental hazards, and have equal access to environmental health decision making processes. Conversely, the course will consider the proposition that people of color and socio-economically disadvantaged individuals bear a disproportionate burden of environmental pollution and its health consequences, in the US and globally. This course is designed to orient students to concepts, foundations and evidence regarding environmental justice, including its history, challenges, and future.
- Additional information
- Credit hour, prerequisite, and other information cannot be displayed for this course. If this is a course outside of the College of Arts and Sciences, please see the appropriate school's bulletin for additional information.
- Elective Courses. Two (2) courses:
- ANTH-E 318 Nature/Culture: Global Perspectives in Environmental Anthropology
- ANTH-E 366 Commodities and Culture
- ANTH-E 444 People and Protected Areas: Theories of Conservation
- CLAS-C 327 Nature and the Environment in Classical Antiquity
- ENG-L 219 Introduction to Environmental Literature
- ENG-L 377 Studies in Ecological Literature and Theory
- ENG-R 348 Environmental Communication
- FOLK-F 330 Folk Culture and Related Fields (Approved topics: "FOLKLORE & THE ENVIRONMENT" (TPC 11))
- GEOG-G 315 Environmental Conservation
- GEOG-G 341 Ecological Restoration: Science, Politics, and Ethics
- GEOG-G 448 Capitalism and Nature
- GEOG-G 449 Political Ecology
- GEOG-G 461 Human Dimensions of Global Environmental Change
- GEOG-G 469 Food and Global Poverty
- HIST-J 300 Writing In History (Approved topics: "NORTH AMERICAN ENVIRONMENTAL HISTORY" (TPC 152))
- INTL-I 202 Global Health and Environment
- INTL-I 408 Advanced Writing in International Studies
- INTL-I 428 Social Justice and the Environment (Approved topics: "ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE" (TPC 1))
- NAIS-A 275 Indigenous Worldviews
- PHIL-P 242 Applied Ethics
- PHIL-P 370 Topics in Philosophy (Approved topics: "FOOD, ANIMALS, AND THE ENVIRONMENT" (TPC 16))
- SPEA-V 424 Environmental Law, Justice, and Politics
- SPH-O 313 Wilderness and Protected Lands
- SPH-O 360 Human Health and Natural Environments
- SPH-V 360 Environmental Justice and the Anthropocene
- Independent study, readings, research, or practicum in environmental ethics and justice from any department (3 cr.) with pre-approval of the Program
ANTH-E 318 Nature/Culture: Global Perspectives in Environmental Anthropology
- Credits
- 3
- Prerequisites
- None
- Description
- When we think of nature, what images come to mind? How are ideas of nature influenced by culture, history, and politics? By the end of the semester, students will recognize how environments represent a collection, not only of plants and animals, but also of meanings and relationships.
ANTH-E 366 Commodities and Culture
- Credits
- 3
- Prerequisites
- None
- Description
- Considers the complex connections between commodities, \"sustainable\" trade, and culture, especially for agricultural commodities. Drawing from work in anthropology and real-world case studies, asks: What makes something a commodity? What is the \"right\" way to farm, to trade, and to eat? Who decides, and why?
- Fall 2025CASE SLcourseSummer 2025CASE SLcourse
ANTH-E 444 People and Protected Areas: Theories of Conservation
- Credits
- 3
- Prerequisites
- None
- Description
- Seminar course that explores major theories and approaches to conservation, from "fortress conservation" to community-based and participatory strategies. Considers the implications of protected areas for local human populations and cultural diversity. Evaluates outcomes and unintended consequences of protected areas, and controversies over the "best" way to protect natural resources.
- Fall 2025CASE DUScourseSummer 2025CASE DUScourse
- Fall 2025CASE SHcourseSummer 2025CASE SHcourse
- Fall 2025CASE SLcourseSummer 2025CASE SLcourse
CLAS-C 327 Nature and the Environment in Classical Antiquity
- Credits
- 3
- Prerequisites
- None
- Notes
- R: CLAS-C 101, CLAS-C 102, CLAS-C 205, or CLAS-C 206
- Description
- Ancient Greeks and Romans experienced the natural world as a resource and a threat. Using literary, material, and archaeological evidence, analyze Greco-Roman engagement with the environment, including responses to disasters like floods, droughts, earthquakes, and volcanic eruptions. Focused topics may include religious practices, literature and art, engineering, bioarchaeology, and recent scientific inquiries.
- Fall 2025CASE AHcourseSummer 2025CASE AHcourse
- Fall 2025CASE GCCcourseSummer 2025CASE GCCcourse
- Fall 2025CASE SLcourseSummer 2025CASE SLcourse
ENG-L 219 Introduction to Environmental Literature
- Credits
- 3
- Prerequisites
- None
- Description
- Introduces the critical study of environmental writing in anglophone literature, covering texts in multiple genres and modes and examining how literature shapes and intersects with environmental awareness, thinking, and justice. May explore nature writing, science writing, ecopoetry, Cli-Fi, among other genres.
- Fall 2025CASE AHcourseSummer 2025CASE AHcourse
- Fall 2025CASE SLcourseSummer 2025CASE SLcourse
ENG-L 377 Studies in Ecological Literature and Theory
- Credits
- 3
- Prerequisites
- None
- Description
- Selected critical and literary approaches to ecological issues over time and in various cultural settings. May examine nature writing, ecopoetry, ecocriticism or ecological theory, the literature of ecological justice, ecofeminist writing, and/or climate storytelling.
- Fall 2025CASE SLcourseSummer 2025CASE SLcourse
ENG-R 348 Environmental Communication
- Credits
- 3
- Prerequisites
- None
- Description
- This class is grounded in the perspective that symbolic and natural systems are mutually constituted and therefore, the ways we communicate about and with the environment are vital to examine for a sustainable and just future. The focus of the class may vary to engage topics such as environmental tourism or environmental disasters.
- Repeatability
- Credit given for only one of CMCL-C 348 or ENG-R 348.
- Fall 2025CASE SHcourseSummer 2025CASE SHcourse
FOLK-F 330 Folk Culture and Related Fields
- Credits
- 3
- Prerequisites
- None
- Description
- Studies of folk culture in relationship to other fields. Focuses on such interdisciplinary topics as folk culture in relationship to language, literature, psychology, history, religion, sociology, musicology, or anthropology.
- Repeatability
- May be repeated with a different topic for a maximum of 6 credit hours.
- Fall 2025CASE SHcourseSummer 2025CASE SHcourse
GEOG-G 315 Environmental Conservation
- Credits
- 3
- Prerequisites
- None
- Description
- Explores the environmental impact of global population growth, natural resources utilization, and pollution. Examines current problems relating to energy consumption, farming practices, water use, resource development and deforestation from geologic and ecological perspectives. Strategies designed to avert predicted global catastrophe will be examined to determine success potential.
- Fall 2025CASE SHcourseSummer 2025CASE SHcourse
- Fall 2025CASE SLcourseSummer 2025CASE SLcourse
GEOG-G 341 Ecological Restoration: Science, Politics, and Ethics
- Credits
- 3
- Prerequisites
- None
- Description
- Can humans restore ecosystems and undo the environmental harm they have caused? To what state/extent should ecosystems be restored? What drives the ecological restoration movement? Investigates the deeply interconnected history, philosophy, ecology, geomorphology, and political economy of restoration through readings, discussions, and fieldwork.
- Fall 2025CASE SHcourseSummer 2025CASE SHcourse
GEOG-G 448 Capitalism and Nature
- Credits
- 3
- Prerequisites
- None
- Description
- How has nature been appropriated, reworked, and produced under capitalism; conversely, how does the materiality of nature shape the conditions of capitalism? In this seminar, we will investigate how relations between capitalism and nature have evolved from the end of feudalism through the current neoliberal era.
- Fall 2025CASE SHcourseSummer 2025CASE SHcourse
- Fall 2025CASE SLcourseSummer 2025CASE SLcourse
GEOG-G 449 Political Ecology
- Credits
- 3
- Prerequisites
- None
- Description
- An introduction to political ecology, an approach which focuses on the political-economic context of natural resource conflicts with particular attention to issues of equity, justice, and power. Covers the theoretical lineage of political ecology, its development over the last twenty years, and current hot topics in the field.
- Fall 2025CASE SHcourseSummer 2025CASE SHcourse
GEOG-G 461 Human Dimensions of Global Environmental Change
- Credits
- 3
- Prerequisites
- None
- Description
- Introduction to global environmental change (GEC), focusing on the human causes and consequences of biophysical transformations of land systems. Emphasis on socioeconomic, political, institutional, and environmental dimensions of land change; tropical forests, grasslands, and urbanizing areas; international environmental regimes; spatial methodologies in GEC research, and integrated approaches.
- Fall 2025CASE SHcourseSummer 2025CASE SHcourse
GEOG-G 469 Food and Global Poverty
- Credits
- 3
- Prerequisites
- None
- Description
- How is the production and consumption of food related to poverty and development? Explores how global food systems affect farmers, farmworkers, retailers and consumers; the ways scientific advances changed rural economies in the Third World; and the history of famine and contemporary food security issues.
- Fall 2025CASE GCCcourseSummer 2025CASE GCCcourse
- Fall 2025CASE SHcourseSummer 2025CASE SHcourse
- Fall 2025CASE SLcourseSummer 2025CASE SLcourse
HIST-J 300 Writing In History
- Credits
- 3
- Prerequisites
- None
- Description
- Develops students' writing skills in history; focuses on the skills of interpretation, historical reasoning, and discussion.
- Repeatability
- May be repeated with a different topic and the authorization of the history undergraduate advisor for a total of 6 credit hours.
- Fall 2025CASE SHcourseSummer 2025CASE SHcourse
INTL-I 202 Global Health and Environment
- Credits
- 3
- Prerequisites
- None
- Description
- Examination of pressing health and environmental challenges around the world, such as deforestation, climate change and the spread of infectious diseases. Focuses on the interaction of health and environmental problems that cross national borders and require a multinational or global effort to solve.
- Fall 2025CASE GCCcourseSummer 2025CASE GCCcourse
- Fall 2025CASE SHcourseSummer 2025CASE SHcourse
INTL-I 408 Advanced Writing in International Studies
- Credits
- 3
- Prerequisites
- At least junior standing or consent of instructor
- Notes
- R: INTL-I 315
- Description
- Focuses on developing and refining advanced writing skills through the exploration of specific topics in International Studies.
- Repeatability
- May be repeated with different topics for a maximum of six credit hours.
INTL-I 428 Social Justice and the Environment
- Credits
- 3
- Prerequisites
- None
- Description
- Interdisciplinary study of comparative environmental justice issues around the world.
- Repeatability
- May be repeated with a different topic for a maximum of 12 credit hours.
NAIS-A 275 Indigenous Worldviews
- Credits
- 3
- Prerequisites
- None
- Description
- Surveys basic aspects of Indigenous life-ways. Introduces comparative cultural analysis, providing a foundation for engaging Indigenous world views. Examines mythology, ritual, health, art, and philosophy; as well as issues of colonialism and globalization. Particular attention will be given to Indigenous ways of learning.
- Fall 2025CASE DUScourseSummer 2025CASE DUScourse
- Fall 2025CASE SHcourseSummer 2025CASE SHcourse
PHIL-P 242 Applied Ethics
- Credits
- 3
- Prerequisites
- None
- Description
- Application of moral theory to a variety of personal, social, and political contexts, such as world hunger, nuclear weapons, social justice, life-and-death decisions, and problems in medical ethics.
- Fall 2025CASE AHcourseSummer 2025CASE AHcourse
PHIL-P 370 Topics in Philosophy
- Credits
- 3
- Prerequisites
- None
- Notes
- R: 3 credit hours of philosophy
- Description
- A survey of selected topics or figures in an area of philosophy (areas vary).
- Repeatability
- May be repeated with different topics for a maximum of 6 credit hours.
- Fall 2025CASE AHcourseSummer 2025CASE AHcourse
SPEA-V 424 Environmental Law, Justice, and Politics
- Description
- An introduction to U.S. environmental politics and policy, focusing on the institutions and political actors involved in environmental protection. It emphasizes the difficult political, economic, and social justice questions that arise in the context of managing current and future public health and ecological risks.
- Additional information
- Credit hour, prerequisite, and other information cannot be displayed for this course. If this is a course outside of the College of Arts and Sciences, please see the appropriate school's bulletin for additional information.
SPH-O 313 Wilderness and Protected Lands
- Description
- The philosophical turmoil of formal wilderness creation in the United States will?be?presented in this course. Discussion and debate of the European influences on wilderness thinking in the United States as well as examination of wilderness experiences of early European settlers to America will be addressed. The course traces the history of influential leaders in wilderness designations and the political climate of wilderness debates.
- Additional information
- Credit hour, prerequisite, and other information cannot be displayed for this course. If this is a course outside of the College of Arts and Sciences, please see the appropriate school's bulletin for additional information.
SPH-O 360 Human Health and Natural Environments
- Description
- Examination of the relationships among human health, quality of life, and natural environments from the perspective of cognitive, emotional, spiritual, and related domains. Experiential learning in local natural settings.
- Additional information
- Credit hour, prerequisite, and other information cannot be displayed for this course. If this is a course outside of the College of Arts and Sciences, please see the appropriate school's bulletin for additional information.
SPH-V 360 Environmental Justice and the Anthropocene
- Description
- Environmental justice exists to the extent that all people regardless of race, income, or other social differences enjoy the same degree of protection from environmental hazards, and have equal access to environmental health decision making processes. Conversely, the course will consider the proposition that people of color and socio-economically disadvantaged individuals bear a disproportionate burden of environmental pollution and its health consequences, in the US and globally. This course is designed to orient students to concepts, foundations and evidence regarding environmental justice, including its history, challenges, and future.
- Additional information
- Credit hour, prerequisite, and other information cannot be displayed for this course. If this is a course outside of the College of Arts and Sciences, please see the appropriate school's bulletin for additional information.
- Concentration GPA, Hours, and Minimum Grade Requirements.
- At least 9 credit hours in the concentration must be completed at the 300–499 level.
- Except for the GPA requirement, a grade of C- or higher is required for a course to count toward a requirement in the concentration.
- A GPA of at least 2.000 for all courses taken in the concentration—including those where a grade lower than C- is earned—is required.
- Exceptions to concentration requirements may be made with the approval of the department's Director of Undergraduate Studies, subject to final approval by the College of Arts and Sciences.