2024-2025 Academic Catalog

Jan 02, 2025

2024-2025 Academic Catalog

SSJ 30113 - Farming for Multispecies Justice: Urban Food Security, Racial Capitalism, and Abolitionist Agroecology Studio

At its core, urban farming is not merely about tilling the soil and planting seeds. It’s about confronting the complex legacy of systemic inequalities imprinted within our urban landscapes while sowing seeds of positive, equitable change. This course is a transformative exploration into the rich tapestry of urban agriculture. Here, we do not perceive urban farming as merely cultivating food. Instead, it is an act of emancipation, a powerful extension of the struggle against systemic oppression in urban settings. This course is rooted in the belief that urban agriculture can be a pivot point for social and ecological justice, emphasizing strategies of resistance against racial capitalism and proactively seeking alternatives. Creating genuinely sustainable food systems will remain elusive without embracing this comprehensive perspective. Critics often caution that even the best-intentioned efforts toward urban food security risk being overshadowed by forces that perpetuate food inequity and related urban injustices. However, in contrast to this backdrop, urban farming emerges as a beacon of promise, illuminating pathways to innovative social and technological solutions. In addressing these complexities, urban agriculture provides solutions to urgent food needs and positions food security as the cornerstone of broader systemic, social, and ecological transformations. This is a community-engaged experiential learning course. Beyond being a rich academic and practical experience, this course is a stepping stone for urban agriculture, permaculture, herbal medicine, public policy, and advocacy careers. By the end of this course, our ambition is for instructors, students, and the community to become co-creators of a process that melds critical reflection with practical strategies for agriculture, extending this commitment to transformative change far beyond addressing the issue of food security. An interview with the instructor prior to enrollment.

This is an experiential studio course where students will be visiting and working on local farms, which requires attendance on select Fridays/Saturdays. Typically, there are 4-5 farm visits during the semester. Students will pay a lab fee to help offset the cost of the farm visits.

Formerly IDCE 30113. Students who have already passed IDCE 30113 cannot receive credit for SSJ 30113 and should not take this course.

Prerequisites: An interview with the instructor prior to enrollment.

Anticipated Terms Offered: Fall or Spring semester