SOC165: Introduction to Environmental Sociology
Mgr. Benjamin Vail, M.Sc., Ph.D.
Spring 2013
Lecture time: Mondays 10.00-11.40
Classroom: U35
Credits: 12
Office hours: Mondays 13.00-14.00 in room 3.59
Course Description
This course introduces many of the major schools of thought and topics of research in the field of
environmental sociology, and presents a historical overview of the development of environmental
sociological theory and research. Each week, students are expected to attend the lecture, read the assigned
literature, and watch required multimedia resources. By the end of the semester, students will have an indepth
understanding of the development of environmental sociology as an academic discipline, gain
knowledge about historical and contemporary environmental issues, and be able to critically analyze the
material and ideal relationships between modern society and its biophysical environment.
Evaluation
Success in this course depends on reading and watching all assigned materials, which serve as the basis for
the midterm and final exams that determine your grade for the semester. Students are expected to attend
every lecture, and information provided in lectures may also be tested in the exams. You will receive a final
letter grade (A-F) for the semester based only on the midterm and final exam grades. See the online
Interactive Syllabus for detailed information about the exams.
Final grade components
Final grade
scale
FSS grade
meanings
40% – Midterm exam
60% – Final exam
A = 90 – 100%
B = 80 – 89%
C = 70 – 79%
D = 60 – 69%
E = 50 – 59%
F = <50%
A = Excellent
B = Outstanding
C = Good
D = Satisfactory
E = Acceptable
E-mail Policy
Students may contact the instructor at any time by e-mail with questions about the course. I will strive to
reply to your questions within 48 hours of receipt of your e-mail. I usually do not read or respond to e-mail
on weekends or holidays.
Academic Honesty
The Faculty of Social Studies at MU expects students to know the study rules and maintain academic
honesty by refraining from plagiarism and from cheating during exams. Plagiarism means that one presents
other peoples’ ideas as one’s own and does not credit the author. Plagiarism is one of the most serious
breaches of ethical standards in the academic environment, for it denies the mission of the university and the
meaning of studying. From a legal perspective, plagiarism is the stealing of intellectual property. The official
FSS policy on academic honesty is available in the course’s interactive syllabus in IS in English and Czech.
Academic dishonesty is not tolerated under any circumstances at FSS. The minimum penalty for academic
dishonesty is expulsion from the course, a grade of F for the semester, and referral to the Faculty disciplinary
committee.
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Weekly Schedule
Week Date Lecture Topic Required Reading Required Video
1 Feb 18
Introduction to
Environmental
Sociology
 Syllabus
 Bell: Chapter 1
 Harper: Chapter 1
 Barbosa: Theories in Environmental Sociology
 State of the Planet
o Part 1: Is there a Crisis?
o Part 2: Why is there a Crisis?
o Part 3: The Future of Life
2 Feb 25
Consumption,
Materialism, and
Modern Society
 Bell: Chapter 2
 Shove and Warde: Consumption and the Environment
 Pearce: Consumption as Environmental Threat
 Mathis Wackernagel: The Ecological Footprint
 Barry Schwartz: The Paradox of Choice
 ABC News: Pacific Garbage Dump
 Charles Moore: Sailing the Great Pacific Garbage Patch
3 March 4
The Treadmill of
Production
 Bell: Chapter 3
 Brulle: US Environmental Movements
 Lewis: Env. Movements in the Global South
 Annie Leonard: The Story of Stuff
4 Mar 11 Sustainability
 Bell: Chapter 4
 Harper: Chapter 6
 Prugh and Assadourian: What is Sustainability, Anyway?
 Daly: A Steady State Economy
 Vandana Shiva: Defending Biodiversity
 Monsanto Company: Global Benefits of Plant Biotechnology
 Bonnie Bucqueroux: Curing America’s Eating Disorder
 Interview with Michael Pollan
5 Mar 18
Health, Risk, and
Environmental Justice
 Bell: Chapters 5 & 9
 Leblanc: Babies are Polluted at Birth
 Mascarenhas: Environmental Inequality & Env. Justice
 Vyvyan Howard: The Chemical Industry and Toxicology
 Vyvyan Howard: Rising Cancer Rates (parts 1 & 2)
 The Digital Dump: Exporting High-Tech Re-Use and Abuse to
Africa
 Exporting Harm: The High-Tech Trashing of Asia
6 Mar 25
Ideology of
Environmental
Domination
 Bell: The Ideology of Environmental Domination (chapter 6)
 Why Should Christians Care about the Environment?
 BBC Interview with Richard Cizik
7 April 1
* No Lecture –
Reading Week *
The Sociology of
Food
 Harper: Chapter 5
 Can Organic Farming Feed the World?
 Michael Pollan: Unhappy Meals
 The Dirty Dozen and Clean 15
 Food, Inc.
8 April 8
* No Lecture *
Midterm Exam
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9 April 15
Ideology of
Environmental
Concern
 Bell: Chapter 7
 Harper: Chapters 7 & 8
 Michael Braungart: “Cradle to Cradle” Design
 Remembering Rachel Carson
 Satish Kumar: Deep Ecology
10 April 22
The Social
Construction of
Nature
 Bell: Chapter 8
 Hannigan: Media and Environmental Communication
11 April 29
Sociological
Perspectives on
Climate Change
 Harper Chapter 3
 Gore: Ten Simple Things You Can Do to Help Stop Global
Warming
 Monbiot: Save the Planet in 10 Steps
 McKibben: Global Warming’s Terrifying New Math & The
Arctic Ice Crisis
 Klaus: Blue Planet in Green Shackles
 Klein: Capitalism vs. the Climate
 The Independent: Scientist publishes “escape route” from global
warming
 BBC: The Truth About Climate Change
o Part 1: Are We Changing Planet Earth?
o Part 2: Can We Save Planet Earth?
 Interview with Bjørn Lomborg
 David Keith on Geoengineering
 George Monbiot on “Love Miles”
12 May 6 Energy and Society
 Harper: Chapter 4
 Kunstler: The Long Emergency
 Is it Time to Revive Nuclear Power?
 News Articles on Energy Issues
 The End of Suburbia: Oil Depletion and the Collapse of the
American Dream
 Power of Community
 Colin Campbell: The Future of Oil
13 May 13
Environmental
Problems and
Solutions
 Bell: Chapters 10 & 11
 Kennedy: Crimes Against Nature
 Heinberg: Post-Growth Economics & Gross National Happiness
 York, Rosa and Dietz: The Environmental Consequences of
Modernity
 A Convenient Truth
 Bill McKibben: Proactive Localism
 Reuters: Community Gardens Blossom