Stream

Environmental Humanities - ENVPD23403

Stream Summary

Faculty: ARTSC - Faculty of Arts&Social Science

School: School of Humanities and Languages

Contact: hal@unsw.edu.au

Program: 3403 - Arts

Award(s):

Bachelor of Arts (Minor)

View stream information for previous years

Stream Outline

This stream structure is for students commencing prior to 2016.

Students commencing from 2016 should refer to the relevant stream version for their program. Please click here for a complete list of programs in which Environmental Humanities can be studied.


Environmental Humanities is an interdisciplinary 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 minor 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 Minor in Environmental Humanities must complete 36 units of credit including 12 UOC at Level 1; at least 12 UOC at Level 2 including the cornerstone course (ARTS2242); and at least 12 UOC at Level 3.

Level 1

Level 2
Environmental Humanities Cornerstone (Compulsory course)

Level 3
The following courses from other subject areas can also be counted towards the Environmental Humanities minor stream:
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Study Levels

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