Environmental Political Thought

In our context of ecological crises, Environmental Political Theory (or Ecosophy) has boomed, attesting of the need for new concepts with which to think our unprecedented situation. Ecosophers think of nuclear energy, GMOs, climate change, the 6th extinction, etc, in terms of responsibility toward future generations, “de-growth,” sustainability, the anthropocene, Gaia, etc. This course will survey some major schools of thought within Ecosophy, highlighting the diversity of the environmentalist movement. We will focus on one common thread weaving eclectic ecosophical currents and concepts: the question of humans’ relationship to the nonhuman.