Green Capitalism

(4 Credits)

Over the past decade, businesses around the world have clamoured to show their environmental credentials. From Shell Oil proudly claiming to be climate sensitive, to new sustainability requirements for rapid urbanization and even mining companies and palm oil plantations touting their success in environmental protection, there is no question that capitalism now presents itself as “green.” But is green business anything more than a color? This seminar will give you a bigger picture by asking, does green capitalism represent a real transformation, or is it limited to superficial technofixes? What is capitalism, and what about it lends itself so readily to the radical manipulation of nature? We will read works by Naomi Klein, Nancy Fraser, Donna Haraway and Kim Fortun, among many others. This course will provide a solid grounding in the political ecology of late industrial capitalism, with special attention to capitalism's natures, plural environmentalisms, and the enterprise of sustainability.