ENVIRONMENTAL SOCIOLOGY: INTRODUCTORY ESSAY

J. Timmons Roberts

Designing a new course in Environmental Sociology in 1994, I threw out my old methods of teaching by lecture with the goal of "covering material." Rather, in this sophomore-level course with high enrollments of non-Sociology majors (including many biologists and engineers), my goal is to structure and guide experiences wherein students become aware of the complexities and deeply social roots of environmental conflicts. I use a small-group participatory approach to teaching the course, wherein students role-play as members of opposing groups in environmental conflicts. I began the course with a simulation which attempts to put students immediately in the position of a group facing a serious hazard in their environment (that their classroom building was contaminated). I sprinkled seven debates/simulations throughout the semester, on issues such as toxic exposures in neighborhoods, in the workplace, global environmental change, the Amazon struggle, and the potential for sustainability in capitalism. As the semester progresses the students become aware of the need for sociological and political economy perspectives on environmental issues.
From the first day of class, students are recruited immediately into small groups to develop position statements on environmental conflicts. They must solve problems of disagreement and differing levels of commitment by various group members. With pedagogical innovations come questions about how to grade fairly. To reduce student anxieties, I attempt to spread around the students' grades over more assignments and group products. About a quarter of their grade depends on their group's statements to the class. They also must write discussion papers on the readings every third week, and post their discussion questions to our class's email "listserver" (40 percent of their grade). Because of these assignments and group projects throughout the semester, I also found myself eliminating multiple-choice portions of the examinations and keeping only the broad essays (25 percent). Finally, in Spring 1996 as a class project we conducted a scientific random phone survey of the Greater New Orleans area on environmental perceptions, concerns and behaviors. We went public with the findings in a press conference covered by two television channels. Students were then given part of their class participation grade (10 percent) based on how many of the ten required surveys they actually conducted, and on their additional efforts to help with the data entry and analysis.
The course has been extremely well received by majors and non-majors alike. It also has become an important part of our university's Environmental Studies program. As more students take the class, however, there has also grown more demand for a junior/senior level course. My goal therefore is to someday teach a course entitled "Nature, Technology and Society."
I hope others will post their syllabi to CNS and that more interdisciplinary approaches combining political economy, ecology and sociology can be developed.

2-line description of myself:
J. Timmons Roberts is Assistant Professor of Sociology and Latin American Studies at Tulane University. His teaching and research link social and environmental impacts of global economic restructuring. He co-edits email discussion lists the Environment in Latin America Network and ENVTECSOC, the discussion list of the Environment, Technology and Society section of the American Sociological Association.

SOCI 260: ENVIRONMENTAL SOCIOLOGY
J. Timmons Roberts, Assistant Professor, Department of SociologyOffice: 220g Newcomb Hall, Office Hours tues/thurs, 11am-12:30 or by appt.
telephone: 865-5820; email: timmons@mailhost.tcs.tulane.edu

There is a growing awareness that in order to understand and solve the dire environmental problems facing our planet we need to examine the underlying social, psychological, political and economic forces driving human behavior. In this course we will examine the rapidly growing field of Environmental Sociology, which brings the sociological perspective and sociological methods of analysis to this broadly cross-disciplinary topic. Topics will include global, local and individual level causes and effects of environmental change.
In this course we'll look at: 1) Issues and approaches taken up by Environmental Sociology over the last 25 years; 2) How society and the economy have developed its relationship to the environment; 3) the environmental movement 4) the sociology of environmental movements in the U.S., including large mainstream national and international organizations, Not In My Backyard (NIMBY), and other grassroots organizations; 5) the recent environmental racism/environmental justice movement in response to the siting of waste dumps and hazardous facilities and factories.; 5) measuring concern for the environment; 6) motivations and actions of radical environmental movements; 7)occupational risks and the struggle to create OSHA; 8) A special unit examining the struggle over control of the Amazon rainforest: political, social and economic actors and proposals for preserving the region; 9) recent studies on the human dimensions of local and global environmental changes: their social origins, underlying class structures; and 10) utopian proposals for becoming a sustainable society. To avoid falling into an excessively U.S.-centered approach, we will combine discussions of environmental sociology and U.S. movements with case studies and theoretical efforts from other countries, especially Latin America and the developing world.
To cover this wide range of topics a substantial amount of preparation outside of class is REQUIRED. The reading load is approximately 80-120 pages a week. I have selected a series of six books and about five briefing papers, and one evolving additional resource:
  1. Riley E. Dunlap and Angela G. Mertig (eds.). 1992. American Environmentalism: The U.S. Environmental Movement 1970-1990. Philadelphia: Taylor and Francis. ISBN 0-8448-1730-9
  2. John Bellamy Foster. 1994. The Vulnerable Planet: A Short Economic History of the Environment. New York: Cornerstone Books (Monthly Review Press). ISBN 0-85345-874-X
  3. Steve Fox. 1991. Toxic Work: Women Workers at GTE Lenkurt. Philadelphia: Temple Univ. Press. ISBN 0-87722-895-7
  4. Chico Mendes/Tony Gross. 1989. Fight for the Forest: Chico Mendes in His Own Words. London: Latin America Bureau. ISBN 0-906156-68-8
  5. Michael Edelstein. 1988. Contaminated Communities. Boulder: Westview. ISBN 0-8133-7657-2
  6. David Helvarg. 1994. The War Against the Greens. San Francisco: Sierra Club Books. ISBN: 0-87156-459-9
  7. Five briefing papers by the Union of Concerned Scientists will be for sale cheap in the bookstore soon.
  8. An on-line discussion will parallel this course, and I know many of you will want to participate/listen in. Occasional postings will include campus and community events concerning the environment, late-breaking stories, topics we didn't get to in class, questions for future class or on-line discussions, and so on. To join the discussion group, first get a computer account at TCS in Richardson Hall. Then learn e-mail from someone and send a message to: majordomo with only the text SUBSCRIBE ENVSOC You will soon begin receiving mail from everyone else in the group, and anyone who's subscribed can post mail to the address and it will go to all other subscribers. I ask those subscribed to not post too frivolously but to feel free enough to try out some ideas on there.
  9. Additional Good Further Readings for those interested in pursuing some topics further are available upon request.

Your requirements are preparation, attendance, participation in discussions, debates, hearings, and our survey, 4 short discussion papers, and two exams. Participation in our on-line discussion is purely optional but will be interesting. Attendance: missing classes will make it difficult to keep up and to participate in crucial class exercises. Being a reading course, to understand what we're talking about and to participate, YOU MUST KEEP UP WITH THE READINGS AND COME PREPARED TO OUR MEETINGS.
On the Discussion Papers: The class will be divided into three groups which will alternate weeks preparing short papers on the reading. These type-written, single-spaced papers are due by 8:30 a.m. on the morning of our Tuesday class. One copy should be handed in to the instructor's mailbox (220 Newcomb), and please circulate the questions to our class electronic discussion list. Be sure to keep one copy. These discussion papers should include 3 parts: 1. a very brief (concise) summary of the central points or arguments the author(s) present(s) [2-4 paragraphs]. 2. a brief assessment of the strengths and weaknesses of the authors' central argument [2-4 paragraphs]. Without being authorities, comment here on whether the author's evidence really supports what they set out to do and their conclusions. How does their viewpoint color the interpretations they make? Say why you agree or disagree with their project and conclusions. and 3. Provide two discussion questions related to the readings. One should be a lingering question for you, and the other a question that will promote class discussion. I will use these questions in class, so make them as juicy as you can.
I will calculate final grades roughly as follows: five discussion papers (40%), debate/hearings participation and summary statements (25%), mid-term and final take-home exam (25%) and class participation (10%), which includes participation in the survey and evidence that you're keeping up with the readings. Pop quizzes are possible if it appears that anyone is not keeping up with the reading. I hope that we can build an exciting, fun and open forum here for all to participate. That means everyone helping by allowing others to talk, not dominating the discussions, and encouraging differences of opinion. I do not expect you to agree with me: I hope you'll stand up for what you think (I will not penalize you). Also, don't worry about asking what you might consider a naive or "stupid" question--others are probably also wondering the same thing. Because the class comes from diverse backgrounds and trainings, we need be aware that some will need basic background information to bring them into the group. Stay tuned-in: some of these basic reviews will contain information you thought you knew...but didn't. I expect students to learn each other's names, and treat each other with respect.

SOCI 260: ENVIRONMENTAL SOCIOLOGY
Calendar, Spring, 1996

DatePapers Due:Readings Due:
Week 1: Introduction to the Course: The Newcomb Hall Scandal
Jan 11none, but start other readings as soon as possible.
Week 2: Responding to the News that Your Community, School or Workplace is Contaminated
Jan 16[Group A]Tuesday: Edelstein Chapters 1 and 2;
Jan 18Thurs: A Senate-type Hearing on a Hazardous Site, between: Students, Environmentalists, Residents and Local Government Officials (see handout [Group C are the Senators: who hear arguments, raise questions and vote].
Reading: Edelstein Chapter 3
Week 3: Understanding Different Levels of How People Respond: Cognitive Adjustment, Individual and Family Impacts, Government Reaction, Community Response
Jan 23[Group B]Tues: Edelstein Chapters 4 and 5
Jan 25Thurs: In class: begin designing survey; Reading: Edelstein Chapters 6,7 and 8
Week 4: Sociology of the Environmental Movement in the U.S.
Jan 30[Group C]Tuesday: Short Videos: Discourse of National and Local Environmental Groups
Readings: Dunlap and Mertig Preface and Chapter 1: "The Evolution of the U.S. Environmental Movement from 1970 to 1990: An Overview." Mitchell, Mertig and Dunlap:"Twenty Years of Environmental Mobilization: Trends Among national Environmental Organizations." (Dunlap and Mertig; Chapter 2) (Handout on Funding Pleas Simulation)
Feb 1Thursday: Guest speaker: Darrel Malek-Wiley, Sierra Club, Louisiana
Michael McCloskey: "Twenty Years of Change in the Environmental Movement: An Insider's View." (Dunlap and Mertig: Chapter 7); Helvarg book Intro, Chap. 1
Week 5: NIMBYS, Grassroots, and Radical Environmentalism, Environmental Racism and the Environmental Justice Movements
Feb 6[Group A]Funding Pleas Simulation: Environmental Groups Present their Group's mission, niche, and what they'd do with the money. [Group A Funders]. Readings: Nicholas Freudenberg and Carol Steinsapir "Not in Our Backyards: The Grassroots Environmental Movement" (Dunlap and Mertig Chapter 3); Bullard and Wright: "The Quest for Environmental Equity: Mobilizing the African-American Community for Social Change." (Dunlap and Mertig Chapter 4); Dunlap and Mertig Chapter 5: Devall "Deep Ecology and Radical Environmentalism."
Feb 8Guest Speaker: Tom Bryant, Gulf Coast Tenants Association; or Beverly Wright; Reading:
Reading: UCS briefing paper: U.S. Consumption and the Environment
Week 6: How Do You Measure Public Support for Environmental Concerns?
Feb 13[no papers]Riley E. Dunlap: "Trends in Public Opinion Toward Environmental Issues: 1965-1990." (Dunlap and Mertig Chapter 8) /in class work on survey\
Feb 15Mid-term Exam (readings and lectures and videos up to this point)
Week 7: Deep Ecology and Eco-Feminism
Feb. 20th: Mardi Gras:No class. Enjoy. Begin Foster and Helvarg books over break.
Feb 22Religion/Philosophy and Environmentalism lecture; /survey completed in class\
Week 8: Rewinding the Tape Part I: Is There a Mess, and If So, How Did We Get Into It?
Feb 27[Group B]Tuesday: Foster book, chapters 1,2; UCS briefing papers on Global Change
Feb 29Thursday: In-class simulation of bargaining between states for the siting of a Japanese film and plastics company.
Foster book, chapters 3,4 (Handout for Sustainability debate, groups assigned)
/Surveys distributed to class for completion by phone\
Week 9: Rewinding Part II: The Expanding Economic System and the Environment
Mar 5[Group C]Tuesday: Foster book, chapters 5,6
Mar 7Thursday: A hearing/debate on Economic Growth and Environmental Abuse: Can capitalism be Reshaped to Meet the Needs of Sustainability? [Group B are Senators] Reading: Foster book, chapters 7,8; UCS reading
/First 5 Completed Surveys Due\
Week 10: A Case Study: Social and Environmental Crises and Struggles in the Brazilian Amazon
Mar 12[All Groups]Tuesday: Fight for the Forest Chapters 1,2,3,4; Background on Amazon talk
Mar 14Identifying all the players (handout on Amazon simulations)
Readings: Fight for the Forest Chapters 5, 6, epilogue
/All Completed Surveys Due\
Week 11: A Way Out of the Amazon and Developing World Mess?
Mar 19[Group A]Dunlap and Mertig Chapter 6: Caldwell: "Globalizing Environmentalism: Threshold of a New Phase in International Relations." UCS papers on Poverty/Women and Development
Mar 21Thursday: Simulation Debate: stakeholder groups in the Amazon conflict. [Group C senators]
/survey data entry completed\
Week 12: The Social Struggle over Occupational Risks: How do People Perceive Workplace Dangers and Why? What Can Workers Do?
Mar 26[Group B]Tuesday: Fox book: Toxic Work, Intro, Chapters 1,2
Mar 28Thursday: Toxic Work Ch. 3,4 (Workplace debate handout)
/survey data analysis completed\
April 2, 4: Spring Break, enjoy.
Week 13: Race and Class Inequality and Exposures on the Job; The "Right to Know," Stress and Exposures
Apr 9[GroupC]Tuesday: Toxic Work Ch. 5,6
Apr 11Thursday: Hearing/Debate on Workplace Exposures [Group A Senators]; Toxic Work Ch. 7,8, Conclusion
/survey data reported back to class\
Week 14: Anti-Environmental Backlash Groups and Movements in the 1990s
Apr 16[all groups]Tuesday: Helvarg book Chap. 2-8 (final debate handout)
Apr 18Thursday: Helvarg book Chaps. 9-14 /PRESS CONFERENCE ON SURVEY\
Week 15: Final Class: Can America and the World Economy Be Made Sustainable?
Apr 23Last Class: Final Debate on How Society could be made sustainable; evaluations, Final Debate [all groups participate]: What would have to change for society to be sustainable? Could it? (Take-Home Exam Questions Distributed)
Wed. May 1 (10 am):One-hour in-class exam. Your take-home tests are DUE at the end of the exam period. Congratulations on finishing the course. Have a sweet summer.