SOC 330 - Environmental Sociology

Units: 4 ; Breadth Area: GE-UD-4; Sustainability
An introduction to environmental justice theory and practice. Environmental racism and other forms of ecological injustice are examined. Claims made by diverse groups are probed, and policy and civil society responses to perceived environmental injustice are explored.

Breadth Area(s) Satisfied: GE-UD-4 - Upper Division Social and Behavioral Sciences, Overlay - Sustainability
Prerequisites: Completion of GE Areas 1A, 1B, 1C and GE-2 with grade C- (CR) or better (GE Areas A1, A2, A3 and B4 for students on the 2024-25 or earlier catalogs).
Strongly Recommended Preparation: Upper division status (greater than 60 earned semester units) and completion of lower division GE Area 4 requirements (Area D1-2 requirements for students on the 2024-25 or earlier catalogs).
Possible Instructional Methods: On-ground, or Hybrid, or Online-Asynchronous, or Online-Synchronous.
Grading: A-F grading only.
Course Typically Offered: Fall & Spring

Student Learning Outcomes - Upon successful completion of this course students will be able to:

Explain the various schools of thought within environmental sociology and understand how they are in dialogue with each other.
Understand what we mean by the “social construction of the environment.”
Understand sociological perspectives on topics such as climate change, environmental justice, natural disasters, environmental degradation, and environmental movements.
Use your sociological imagination to consider the connections between individual humans, social groups, and the natural world.

GE-UD-4. Upper-division Social and Behavioral Sciences Learning Outcomes

analyze how power and social identity affect social outcomes for different cultural and economic groups using methods of social science inquiry and vocabulary appropriate to those methods;
demonstrate an understanding of and ability to apply accurately disciplinary concepts of the social or behavioral sciences; and
demonstrate an understanding of and ability to effectively plan or conduct research using an appropriate method of the social or behavioral sciences.

Sustainability Overlay Learning Outcomes

Discuss multiple dimensions of sustainability, including the scientific, social, cultural, and/or economic.
Analyze interactions between human activities and natural systems.
Describe strategies taken by individuals, communities, organizations, or governments for mitigating and/or adapting to key threats to environmental sustainability.