Environmentalism and Public Policies

Course
Type
Seminar
Duration
45h
LanguageEnglish
Lecturer(s) Santita Ganjanapan
  • Course description

    A seminar course on ways different social groups conceptualise the environment, and how they use environmental ideas to address environmental problems and mobilise for changes in environmental policies. Classification of environmental ideologies. Neo-Malthusianism and debates on population and environment. Gender and environment. Deep ecology, social ecology, bioregionalism. Religions and environment. Local ecological knowledge. Animal rights. Case studies on contesting discourses in formulation processes of environmental policies at multiple scales.
  • Main themes

    • Conceptualisation of relationships between societies and environment
    • Classification of environmental ideas
    • Development of technocentric environmental ideas
    • Development of ecocentric environmental ideas
    • Neo-Malthusianism: the Limits to Growth School
    • Cornucopia
    • Gender and environment
    • Deep ecology
    • Social ecology and bioregionalism
    • Western Religions and environment: Christianity, Judaism and Islam
    • Non-Western Religions and environment: Hinduism and Buddhism
    • Local ecological knowledge
    • Animal rights
    • Case study: energy and water conflicts in Mekong Region
    • Case Study: forest politics in Thailand
  • Learning outcomes

  • Teaching and learning methodology

    Discussion and class presentation from reading materials
  • Assessment methods and criteria

    Class presentation and discussion - 20%
    Presentation of draft term paper - 10%
    Submission of final term paper for grading - 70%
  • Required reading

    Agrawal, Arun. 1995. Dismantling the Divide between Indigenous and Scientific Knowledge. Development and Change 26:  413-439.
    Benton, Lisa M.  and John Rennie Short.  1999.  Environmental Discourse and Practice.  Oxford:  Blackwell Publishers, pp. 1-7.
    Berkes, Fikret. 1999. Sacred Ecology: Traditional Ecological Knowledge and Resource Management. Philadelphia, PA:  Taylor & Francis. Chapter 1.
    Bookchin, Murray.  1988.  Social Ecology Versus Deep Ecology.  Excerpt in Donald VanDeVeer and Christine Pierce (eds.), The Environmental Ethics and Policy Book, pp. 228-238.
    Dean, Mawil Y. Izzi. 1990. Islamic Environmental Ethics, Law and Society. Excerpt from   Louis P. Pojman, 2001, Environmental Ethics:  Readings in Theory and Application, pp. 260-265. Australia: Wadsworth.
    Devall, Bill and George Session. 1985.  Deep Ecology.  Excerpt in Donald VanDeVeer and Christine Pierce (eds.), The Environmental Ethics and Policy Book, pp. 215-220. 
    De Silva, Lily. 1987. The Buddhist Attitude towards Nature. Pp. 256-260. Excerpt from Louis P. Pojman, 2001, Environmental Ethics:  Readings in Theory and Application, pp. 256-260. Australia: Wadsworth.
    Dodge, Jim.  1993.  Living by Life:  Some Bioregional Theory and Practice. Excerpt in Peter C. List, Radical Environmentalism:  Philosophy and Tactics, pp. 108-117. Belmont, California:  Wadsworth.
    Dwivedi, O.P. 1990. Satyagraha for Conservation:  Awakening the Spirit of Hinduism. Excerpt from Louis P. Pojman, 2001, Environmental Ethics:  Readings in Theory  and Application, pp. 250-256. Australia: Wadsworth.
    Eckersley, Robin. 1992. Environmentalism and Political Theory: Toward an Ecocentric Approach. London: UCL Press. (Social Sciences Library)
    Foran, Tira and Kanokwan Manorom. 2009. Pak Mun Dam: Perpetually Contested? In François Molle, Tira Foran and Mira Käkönen (eds.), Contested Waterscapes in the Mekong Region: Hydropower, Livelihoods and Governance, pp.333-355. London: Earthscan.
    Guha, Ramachandra. 1989.  Radical American Environmentalism and WildernessPreservation:  A Third World Critique. Excerpt in Lori Gruen and Dale Jamieson (eds.), Reflections on Nature:  Readings in Environmental Philosophy, pp. 241-252.  New York and Oxford:  Oxford University Press.
    Hardin, Garrett.  1968. Tragedy of the Commons.  Excerpt in Donald VanDeVeer and Christine Pierce (eds.), The Environmental Ethics and Policy Book, pp. 422-430. Belmont, California:  Wadsworth.
    Hardin, Garrett.  1974.  Lifeboat Ethics.  Excerpt in Donald VanDeVeer and Christine Pierce (eds.), The Environmental Ethics and Policy Book, pp. 378-383. Belmont, California: Wadsworth.
    Hirsch, Philip. 1997.  Environment and Environmentalism in Thailand :  Material and IdeologicalBases.  In Hirsch, Philip (ed.), Seeing Forests for Trees : Environment and Environmentalism in Thailand, pp. 15-36.  Bangkok : Silkworm Books.  
    Isager, Lotte and Soren Ivarsson. 2002. Contesting Landscapes in Thailand:  Tree Ordination as Counter-territorialzation. Critical Asian Studies 34(3):  395-417.
    Jackson, Cecile. 1993. Doing What Comes Naturally? Women and Environment in Development. World Development 21(12):  1947-1963.
    Jewitt, Sarah. 2000. Mothering Earth? Gender and Environmental Protection in the Jharkhand, India. Journal of Peasant Studies 27(2):  94-131.
    Käkönen, Mira and Philip Hirsch. 2009. The Anti-Politics of Mekong Knowledge Production. In François Molle, Tira Foran and Mira Käkönen (eds.), Contested Waterscapes in the Mekong Region: Hydropower, Livelihoods and                              Governance, pp. 333-355. London: Earthscan.
    Pepper, David.  1996.  Modern Environmentalism.  London and New York:  Routledge.
    Meadows, Donella H. et al. 1972. Limits to Growth. Washington, D.C.:  Potomac  Associate.
    Nygren, Anya. 1999. Local Knowledge in the Environment-Development Discourses:  From Dichotomies to Situated Knowledges. Critiques in Anthropology 19(3):  267-288.
    Regan, Tom. 1985. The Case for Animal Rights. Excerpt in Donald VanDeVeer and Christine Pierce (eds.), 1994. The Environmental Ethics and Policy Book, pp. 77-85. 
    Santasombat, Yos. 2004. Karen Cultural Capital and the Political Economy of Symbolic Power. Asian Ethnicity 5(1): 105-120.
    Sale, Kirkpatrick.  1993.  Dwellers in the Land.  Excerpt in Peter C. List, Radical Environmentalism:  Philosophy and Tactics, pp. 108-117. Belmont, California:  Wadsworth.
    Seager, Joni.  1993.  Earth Follies:  Feminism, Politics and the Environment. London: Earthscan, pp. 223-234, 270-279.
    Seager, Joni. 2003. Pepperoni or Broccoli? On the Cutting Wedge of Feminist Environmentalism. Gender, Place & Culture 10(2):  167-174.
    Shiva, Vandana.  1989.  Development, Ecology and Women. Excerpt in Donald  VanDeVeer and Christine Pierce (eds.), The Environmental Ethics and Policy Book, pp. 281-287.   Belmont, California:  Wadsworth.
    Simon, Julian L.  1981.  Can the Supply of Natural Resources Really Be Infinite? Yes! Excerpt in Donald VanDeVeer and Christine Pierce (eds.), The Environmental Ethics and Policy Book, pp. 401-406.  Belmont, California:  Wadsworth.
    Singer, Peter. 1973. Animal Liberation. Excerpt in Donald VanDeVeer and Christine Pierce (eds.), 1994. The Environmental Ethics and Policy Book, pp. 66-73.
    Sinnett, M.W.  A Note on the Ultimate Resource. Available at https://mises.org/system/tdf/rae1_1_12.pdf?file=1&type=document
    Sretthachau, Chainarong and Pianporn Deetes (eds.). 2004. The Return of Fish, River  Ecology and Local Livelihoods of the Mun River:  A Thai Baan (Villagers’) Research. Southeast Asia Rivers Network. Available at       
    http://www.livingriversiam.org/3river-thai/pm/tb_research/pm-fish-book-eng.pdf
    Walker, Andrew. 2001. The ‘Karen Consensus’, Ethnic Politics and Resource-Use Legitimacy in Northern Thailand. Asian Ethnicity 2(2):  145-162.
    Walker, Andrew. 2004. Response. Asian Ethnicity 5(2):  259-265. 
    White, Lynn.  1967.  The Historical Roots of Our Ecologic Crisis.  Excerpt in Donald VanDeVeer and Christine Pierce (eds.), 1994. The Environmental Ethics and Policy Book, pp. 45-51.

Last updated: 18 August 2017

This site uses cookies to enhance user experience and to track usage statistics. For more information, see NOHA’s Data Privacy Policy.