POLS 6870 - Environmental Justice

Meets with ENVST 5870. This seminar examines the proposition that communities of color experience disproportionate impacts of environmental and health hazards that result from social, political, and economic practices. We will explore, for example, the confiscation of land and water from native communities, the placement of toxic waste-producing facilities in poor and minority communities, and the lack of access to healthy food, air and water in communities that lack the political access and financial resources to fight for them. We will critically reflect on these issues, explore the economic practices and governmental policies that sustain them, and challenge ourselves to become aware of the ways that personal and political choices can result in inequities for diverse groups.