ENVS 275 Environmental Justice

Environmental justice (EJ) is a growing and evolving area of both activism and scholarly inquiry, centered on the premise that we have only one earth, and that all people (and other species) are indispensable in achieving an equitable, healthy and vibrant world for ours and future generations. The EJ movement did not spring up suddenly in the 1980s but has deep historical antecedents in this country and around the world. In this class, we will explore the threads that coalesced in the EJ movement, the different axes of identity that shape human-environment interactions, and the places in which environmental (in)justices occur, from home to work to the streets to prisons. Students will research EJ issues in the mid-South and share their work through entries in the EJ Atlas and a creative project.