Environmental Humanities - ENVPD14815
Stream Summary
Faculty: ARTSC - Faculty of Arts&Social Science
School: School of Humanities and Languages
Contact: hal@unsw.edu.au
Program: 4815 - Art Theory/Soc Rsch & Policy
Award(s):
Bachelor of Social Research and Policy (Major)
View stream information for previous years
Stream Outline
Environmental Humanities is an interdisciplinary major stream that is designed to provide students with a solid foundation from which to understand and critically engage with contemporary environmental issues.
Species extinction, genetically modified organisms, climate change and nuclear power are just a few of the challenges facing us today. While these are all clearly ‘environmental’ issues, they are also all profoundly social, cultural and political challenges. Education in the Environmental Humanities focuses on developing critical insight into the ‘human dimensions’ of these environmental issues; issues that now permeate almost every aspect of our lives, from everyday lifestyle decisions to collective and public choices concerning urban development, energy security and food production.
Drawing on resources from across the humanities and social sciences, teaching in Environmental Humanities provides students with a valuable and distinctive approach to the environment, grounded in the fields of history, philosophy, geography, cultural studies, literature, science and technology studies (STS) and social theory.
The Environmental Humanities major stream aims to develop:
Species extinction, genetically modified organisms, climate change and nuclear power are just a few of the challenges facing us today. While these are all clearly ‘environmental’ issues, they are also all profoundly social, cultural and political challenges. Education in the Environmental Humanities focuses on developing critical insight into the ‘human dimensions’ of these environmental issues; issues that now permeate almost every aspect of our lives, from everyday lifestyle decisions to collective and public choices concerning urban development, energy security and food production.
Drawing on resources from across the humanities and social sciences, teaching in Environmental Humanities provides students with a valuable and distinctive approach to the environment, grounded in the fields of history, philosophy, geography, cultural studies, literature, science and technology studies (STS) and social theory.
The Environmental Humanities major stream aims to develop:
- An awareness of the historical, philosophical and political implications of the human construction and transformation of the environment.
- An ability to utilise a range of disciplinary methods to analyse and critically interrogate diverse perspectives on contemporary environmental concerns.
- An understanding of the way environmental concerns have become prominent political issues, as well as how social, economic and technological systems affect human relationships with the environment and the ways in which environmental decisions are made and controversies resolved.
- An ability to apply an interdisciplinary approach to the analysis and resolution of contemporary environmental dilemmas
Stream Structure
A student who wishes to gain a major stream in Environmental Humanities must complete 54 units of credit including 12 UOC at level 1; at least 18 UOC at level 2 including the cornerstone course (ARTS2242); and at least 18 UOC at level 3 including the capstone course (ARTS3240).
Level 1
- ARTS1240 Environment and Society (6 UOC)
- ARTS1241 Environmental Activism (6 UOC)
Level 2
- ARTS2240 Environment and Development (6 UOC)
- ARTS2243 Waste and Society (6 UOC)
- ARTS2244 Rethinking Wildlife (6 UOC)
- ARTS2247 Indigenous Environments (6 UOC)
The following courses from other subject areas can also be counted towards the Environmental Humanities major stream:
- SART2855 Art and the Environment (6 UOC)
Environmental Humanities Cornerstone (Compulsory course)
Level 3
- ARTS3241 Environmental Justice (6 UOC)
- ARTS3242 Environmental History (6 UOC)
- ARTS3302 Technology & Consumption (6 UOC)
Only one of the following level 3 courses from other subject areas can be counted towards the Environmental Humanities major stream:
Environmental Humanities Capstone course (Compulsory course)
Selected courses offered by the Institute of Environmental Studies and the Geography Program may be counted toward this plan but only with the express approval of the Environmental Humanities Coordinator.
