Environmental Humanities and Global Justice

Environmental movements have long used the notion of "justice" to frame issues such as the exposure to pollution and toxic waste, the impact of extractive industries or unequal access to healthy environments and food. In the age of climate change, unleashed extractivism and plastic pollution on a planetary scale, "justice" has acquired new meanings and practical implications. Negotiating the stewardship of the global commons, including a stable climate, biodiversity and the oceans, has an immediate justice dimension, as uneven past and present uses of nature enter the scripts and discourses of political agreements, negotiators and activists alike. Similarly, justice struggles are increasingly connected across borders, since they address intertwined experiences of environmental harm or contest the operations of transnational corporations. In this summer university course, we trace emerging notions of global justice from the perspective of the environmental humanities. To do this, we will draw on several sub-disciplines including anthropology, history and sociology and engage in conversations with activists and organizations about their understandings and strategies in framing environmental issues as matters of global justice. It is a case-based and research-oriented course that provides participants with the opportunity of designing individual projects.

Course leader

Heather Anne Swanson

Target group

Bachelor's level

Fee info

EUR 830: EU/EEA citizens
EUR 1373: NON-EU/EEA citizens

Scholarships

No scholarships available

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