Summer 2023 - IS 373 D100

Global Environmental Politics (4)

Class Number: 3779

Delivery Method: In Person

Overview

  • Course Times + Location:

    May 8 – Aug 4, 2023: Tue, 2:30–5:20 p.m.
    Vancouver

  • Prerequisites:

    45 units.

Description

CALENDAR DESCRIPTION:

Examines international efforts to respond to global environmental challenges, such as climate change, deforestation, and the degradation of the oceans. Investigates obstacles to effective action and possible ways forward. Explores the role of a range of key actors, including states, intergovernmental organizations, multinational companies, NGOs, and social movements.

COURSE DETAILS:

This course will engage with transnational efforts to respond to environmental challenges, ranging from climate change, deforestation, and degradation of the oceans—to acute concerns around their interface with global public health.  Awakening to these challenges has been a slow process, despite early warnings from the sciences and robust activism at the local level.  What are the major obstacles to effective action, and what are more promising pathways to progress?  

We will explore the roles of key actors, from states and intergovernmental organizations to multinational companies, NGOs, and social movements—including voices from the global South.  How does the quest for environmental justice shape the ethics of equitable citizenship, for individuals and communities?  What of the gendered impacts of climate change, social and economic?  Multimedia resources will supplement our texts throughout this course.

Grading

  • Class Presentation 20%
  • Participation 10%
  • Review Paper 30%
  • Final Exam 40%

Materials

REQUIRED READING:

Chasek, P. & D. Downie, Global Environmental Politics. Routledge. 8th Ed. 
ISBN: 9780367227623

RECOMMENDED READING:

Luke Cole & Sheila Foster. From the Ground Up: Environmental Racism and the Rise of the Environmental Justice Movement. NYU, 2001

A Research Agenda for Global Environmental Politics. Ed. Peter Dauvergne & Justiin Alger. Elgar (UK), 2018

Naomi Klein. On Fire: The Burning Case for a Green New Deal. Knopf, 2019

Additional readings will be posted on Canvas

REQUIRED READING NOTES:

Your personalized Course Material list, including digital and physical textbooks, are available through the SFU Bookstore website by simply entering your Computing ID at: shop.sfu.ca/course-materials/my-personalized-course-materials.

Registrar Notes:

ACADEMIC INTEGRITY: YOUR WORK, YOUR SUCCESS

SFU’s Academic Integrity website http://www.sfu.ca/students/academicintegrity.html is filled with information on what is meant by academic dishonesty, where you can find resources to help with your studies and the consequences of cheating. Check out the site for more information and videos that help explain the issues in plain English.

Each student is responsible for his or her conduct as it affects the university community. Academic dishonesty, in whatever form, is ultimately destructive of the values of the university. Furthermore, it is unfair and discouraging to the majority of students who pursue their studies honestly. Scholarly integrity is required of all members of the university. http://www.sfu.ca/policies/gazette/student/s10-01.html

RELIGIOUS ACCOMMODATION

Students with a faith background who may need accommodations during the semester are encouraged to assess their needs as soon as possible and review the Multifaith religious accommodations website. The page outlines ways they begin working toward an accommodation and ensure solutions can be reached in a timely fashion.