Semester:
Offered:
Instructor: Vivian Shaw
Meeting time: Wednesday, 12:00 - 2:00
How does your zip code affect your health? What are the social and political consequences to building a dam? How do natural disasters exacerbate racial inequalities? This seminar explores environmental issues through the lens of inequality, focusing particularly on race, indigeneity, gender, and (dis)ability. We will borrow from case studies across the globe: from toxic disasters in Bhopal, India, to the Grenfell Tower fire in London, UK, to Standing Rock, in the United States. While learning about the transnational and comparative-historical scope of environmental issues, students will apply key theoretical tools to situate course topics within broader themes, including cultural memory, popular culture, violence, and governmentality. Students will also develop an expertise in a course-related topic of their choice.