Courses Related to Perspectives of Historically Marginalized Groups on Sustainability
Course offerings are subject to change. We will try to keep this list updated but please verify information in the Undergraduate Catalog if you see a course that is of interest.
Courses listed on this page focus on perspectives, teachings, and issues related to historically marginalized groups including racial minorities, members of the LGBTQ, disabled people, and women. Minorities and marginalized groups tend to be more vulnerable to environmental and economic shocks and have been excluded historically from decision making, policy, and legal forums which impact management of, and responses to environmental issues.
Anthropology
ANT 295 – American Indians and Climate Change
Introduces students to the Indian cultures of the United States and U.S. territories in the South Pacific, paying particular attention to the issue of climate change and how it is impacting indigenous peoples in these regions. The course also examines climate effects on natural resource conditions as it relates to Indian cultures and the roles indigenous groups play in policy responses to climate change.
Disability Studies
DIS 450 – Disability: Population-Environment Diversity
Consistent with contemporary literature and research in the interdisciplinary field of disability studies, students will examine and analyze disability as an interactive disjuncture between the environment, the human body and population groups. Students will analyze how environments shape and are shaped by disability populations and will focus on realigning bodies, populations and environments to advance full participation, reduce personal and environmental harm reductions, and preserve just and safe environments. Included will be natural, virtual, service, economic, social, policy, and community environments across the globe.
Maine Studies
MES 301 – Rachel Carson, Maine, and the Environment
In this course, students will take a chronological approach to the study of Rachel Carson’s life and work, reading her books in the order in which they were written, with attention to the role of “place,” specifically the Maine coast, in fostering her achievement as a nature writer and in shaping her vision as an environmentalist. Some of the questions the course will pose and attempt to answer are: What role did the Maine coast play in enabling Carson to understand the importance of the conservation of “wild” spaces? In what ways did Carson’s experience of the Maine coast contribute to her knowledge and understanding of the sea (a central theme in her work) in all its physical and metaphorical dimensions? And how did Carson’s establishment of a permanent home on the coast of Maine facilitate her development as a science and nature writer?
Native American Studies
NAS 295 – American Indians and Climate Change
Introduces students to the Indian cultures of the United States and U.S. territories in the South Pacific, paying particular attention to the issue of climate change and how it is impacting indigenous peoples in these regions This course also examines climate effects on natural resource conditions as it relates to Indian cultures and the roles indigenous groups play in policy responses to climate change.
Philosophy
PHI 432 – Environmental Justice
A critical study of historical and multicultural perspectives on environmental justice. This course will focus on environmental intersectionality, the theory that environmental burdens disproportionately affect oppressed social groups. Attention will be given to environmental philosophy, ethics and policy, ranging from local indigenous struggles, to national and global issues.
Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies
WGS 230 – Women, Health, and the Environment
Examines the roles of women in shaping current practices and policies of the Western health care system and related environmental issues. It will draw on the work of Rachel Carson and modern women healers of the body and the ecosystem. Students are encouraged to be involved in transformational work at the local, personal or more global level.
WGS 280 – Intersectionality and Social Movements
A bridge between introductory WGS courses and more focused WGS courses, WGS 280 explores topics from WGS 101 and WGS 103 such as transnational feminisms, queer theory, and ecology through intersectional perspectives which reveal the interconnected and overlapping nature of social categories such as gender, class, and race. Through close examination of a variety of texts dealing with equity and diversity, students connect pedagogies and theories to activism, self-reflection and social movements.