Subject Area: Environmental Humanities
This course can also be studied in the following specialisation: Development Studies


The concept of environmental justice upholds the right of all people to a safe, healthy, and sustainable environment. The Environmental Justice movement seeks to address the ways the costs of environmental harm and the gains of environmental exploitation are disproportionately experienced by different groups within and between societies. The course is taught using an interdisciplinary approach drawing on expertise in Environmental Studies, Development Studies, Philosophy, and Sociology. Part One ‘CONCEPTS’ focuses on conceptual and ethical frameworks. Part Two ‘INJUSTICE’ deals with historical and contemporary case studies from Australia, the USA, India, and Thailand. Part Three ‘PROTEST’ explores collective action in response to environmental injustice. The course examines the ways injustice is contested by communities, and the ways the search for environmental justice has been a catalyst for contesting other issues – such as civil rights, slum dweller rights, women’s rights, and ethnic minority rights.