2020-2021 Academic Catalog 
    
    Mar 29, 2024  
2020-2021 Academic Catalog [ARCHIVED CATALOG]

ES 1240 - Our World, Our Future: THe Philosophy and Politics of Sustainabliltiy


We live in a world that is slowly coming to terms with its own limitations. Whether in scientific journals, or in the daily news, the future looks pretty bleak.  We constantly hear about the environmental crisis, the climate crisis, the ecological apocalypse and the energy crisis. While we are plagued by crises, questions about our common future have once again gained immense political currency and popular traction. In such a time, it becomes important to ask ourselves questions about sustainability so that we can act in ways that remediate our current crises, and offer alternatives to prevent them in the future. In this course, we start to do so by first exploring the concept of sustainability as it is understood in various philosophical traditions. We then explore the politics of sustainability in the context of various environmental issues to understand why sustainability is such a pressing issue by looking at the consequences of various unsustainable practices and actions. These issues range from global climate change, mining, pollution and waste, to energy and food systems. In the final part of the course, students will develop their own toolkit for sustainable living, connecting their individual lives with larger systemic conditions.

Anticipated Terms Offered: varies