Politics and Nature

This course investigates the politics of the relationship between people and the earth; examines the environmental consequences of this relationship as it currently exists, as well as its impact on human justice and freedom; and explores alternative political imaginaries and institutional forms that include the non-human, evaluating their implications for sustainability, justice, and freedom. In the course of considering the political relationship between human beings and the earth, we examine core political concepts including domination, freedom, agency, sovereignty, democracy, justice, liberalism, rights, representation, and the political. We also explore the relationship between politics and ethical life.