The course will examine the following issues, from a theoretical perspective and will use case studies, to discuss and debate environmental implications of development. The issues will include, relations between society and the environment, the evolution of environmental thinking, evaluation of environmental problems, especially those relating to development, environmental decision making – principal and theories and the socio-political and economic structures that determine the exploitation of natural resources. The theoretical perspectives will draw on traditions and disciplines related to political ecology, ecological anthropology, environmental sociology, environmental history, and environmental economics. The case-studies would focus on particular environmental issues and a range of actions and responses to these environmental issues – for example, anthropogenic global change; common property resource management; approaches to pollution management; conservation and biodiversity; agriculture and deforestation; population and environment; climate change and development; ecological footprint analysis; and fundamental differences in the environmental movements in the North and the South. The discourse on sustainability will be an integral part of the discussions in most case-studies. It is intended that students develop a sound understanding of and an interdisciplinary perspective on the relationship between environment and society.
