POLS 4343/
5343 x1 - Political Philosophy 1
Environmental Political Theory
Fall 2006
Andrew Biro
Office: BAC 216 (Tuesday 9:30-11:30 or by appointment) 585-1925 email
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Course Description and
Overview
Calendar description: "This course develops ideas central to political philosophy by means of analytic and interpretive inquiry."
This iteration of POLS 4343 will focus on environmental
political theory. The two central concerns of the course will be 1) the ways in
which the idea of ‹natureŠ is deployed in political arguments; and 2) the ways
in which environmental crises are forcing a reconsideration of traditional
political concepts and ideologies. The course will move back and forth between
these two themes, and will treat them as related, even if they must to some
extent be analyzed separately. The first section of the course will introduce
students to environmental political theory, and to the issues raised by
political appeals to ‹nature.Š This will include an examination of the politics
of science, and of technology and progress. The following two weeks will focus
on the political philosophy of the
Course Format
This class
will be conducted as a seminar, which means that I will do very little formal
lecturing. I will not come to class with a prepared agenda for discussion, but
rather will solicit topics or questions for discussion at the beginning of each
class. Thus, for the class to work, it is imperative that you attend class
regularly (and on time), having done the readings, and having thought about some
of the issues that they raise. While this is a political philosophy
course, one of the concerns of the course (and environmental political
theory more generally) is to make connections between abstract philosophizing
and more empirical or pragmatic political concerns. Some of the readings work at a fairly high level
of abstraction, while
others are more concrete. Similarly, class discussions will try to strike a
balance between more abstract philosophical positions, and what those positions
mean in the ‹real world.Š Some of the issues raised, as well as the readings
themselves, may be quite contentious, so it is important that all class
participants remain respectful while expressing their opinions.
You will
likely find some of the readings for this course to be difficult or dense.
Preparing adequately for class will require more than just skimming the readings
the night before. While I don‰t expect that you will come to class always having
fully understood the readings, I do expect that you will at least have grappled
with them, and are able to articulate what it is (if anything) that you don‰t
understand.
Finally,
please note that class meetings will start at 8:45 sharp. Out of courtesy to your
classmates (who probably dislike getting up early just as much as you do) please
make every effort to be on time.
Course Schedule
student presentations in {parentheses}
Sept 6 š
Introduction to the Course
Sept 13 š
Environmental Political Theory
Sheldon S. Wolin, ‹Political Theory as a
VocationŠ American Political Science Review 63, 4 (1969), pp.1062-82;
esp. sections IV and V (1077-82) (online
via JSTOR)
Robyn Eckersley, ‹Green Politics: A Practice
in Search of a Theory?Š Alternatives
15, 4 (1988) [kit]
Joel Jay Kassiola, ‹Afterword: The Surprising
Value of Despair and the Aftermath of September 11,Š in Kassiola (ed.), Explorations in Environmental Political
Theory: Thinking About What We Value (M.E. Sharpe, 2003) š online
In class: Seminar
presentation topics/dates will be chosen
Outside of class: ‹An
Inconvenient TruthŠ is showing Sept. 13 and 14 at the Al Whittle Theatre (Acadia
Cinema on
Sept 20 š
Ecology/Science as Politics š The Case of the ‹Tragedy of the
CommonsŠ
Garrett Hardin, ‹The Tragedy of the CommonsŠ Science, 162 (1968) pp.1243-48 [online - go here to download] {Tyrone}
Rebecca Roberts & Jacque Emel, ‹Uneven
Development and the Tragedy of the Commons: Competing Images for Nature-Society
AnalysisŠ Economic Geography 68, 3
(July 1992) [pdf on ACME]
Peter Taylor, ‹Non-Standard Lessons from the
Tragedy of the Commons,Š in Michael Maniates (ed.) Encountering Global Environmental Politics:
Teaching, Learning, and Empowering Knowledge (Rowman & Littlefield,
2003). [online]
Film: ‹An Inconvenient TruthŠ (see Sept. 13,
above, for details)
Sept 27 š
Environmental Political Theory Without ‹NatureŠ
Donald Worster; ‹Disturbing NatureŠ in Nature‰s Economy: A History of Ecological
Ideas 2nd ed. (Cambridge UP, 1994) [on 2-hr reserve at
VML]
Cindi Katz, ‹Whose Nature, Whose Culture? Private Productions of Space and the "Preservation" of NatureŠ in Bruce Braun and Noel Castree (eds.), Remaking Reality: Nature at the Millennium (Routledge, 1998) [kit]
Oct 4 š
Environmental Politics, Technology, and ‹ProgressŠ
Michael Zimmerman, ‹Marx and Heidegger on the
Technological Domination of Nature,Š Philosophy Today (1979)
[kit]
John Barry ‹Towards a Concrete Utopian Model of Green Political Economy: From Economic Growth and Ecological Modernisation to Economic SecurityŠ Post-Autistic Economics Review 36, 4 (Feb. 2006) - online
David Pepper, ‹Utopianism and
EnvironmentalismŠ Environmental
Politics 14, 1 (Feb 2005) [kit]
(optional background readings š not
required):
Martin Heidegger, ‹The Question Concerning
TechnologyŠ š online
and on reserve at VML; and/or
Karl Marx, ‹Estranged LabourŠ [aka ‹Alienated
LabourŠ] in 1844 Manuscripts [aka Economic and Philosophical Manuscripts,
aka Paris Manuscripts] š online
Oct 11 š
The
Andrew Dobson, ‹Critical Theory and Green
PoliticsŠ in Andrew Dobson and Paul Lucardie (eds), Politics of Nature (Routledge, 1995)
[kit]
Herbert Marcuse, ‹Nature and RevolutionŠ in
Counterrevolution and Revolt (Beacon Press, 1972) [kit]
William Leiss, ‹The Liberation of Nature?Š in
The Domination of Nature (McGill-Queen's
UP, 1994) [kit]
Assignment: essay proposal due
Friday Oct 13
Oct 18 š
The
Optional: Andrew Biro, ‹Adorno and Ecological
PoliticsŠ in
Outside of class [optional]:
‹Sense of WonderŠ (play about the life & work of Rachel Carson š shows Oct
18 only)
Outside of class [recommended]: Oct. 18 - Public lecture by Timothy Luke, "Another Inconvenient Truth: How Might Global Warming Advance Environmentality on a Global Scale?" (5:00pm, KCIC Auditorium)
Outside of class: Critical
Ecologies Workshop Oct. 20-21. Attendance for at least one session is required.
You are of course welcome to attend more than one session, as well as lunches
and the opening reception (Oct 19). See below
and the workshop website for
details.
Oct 25
Liberalism and Environmentalism
Michael Zimmerman, ‹A Strategic Direction for
21st Century Environmentalists: Free Market EnvironmentalismŠ Strategies: Journal of Theory, Culture, and
Politics 13, 1 (May 2000) [online]
Michael Maniates, ‹Individualization: Plant a
Tree, Buy a Bike, Save the World?Š in Thomas Princen, Michael Maniates, and Ken
Conca (eds.), Confronting Consumption
(MIT Press, 2002) [kit]
Assignment: Workshop review paper
due Friday Oct. 27
Nov 1
Environmentalism and Marxism, Feminism, and Anti-Racism
James O‰Connor, ‹The Second Contradiction of
CapitalismŠ in Natural Causes: Essays in
Ecological Marxism (
Catriona Sandilands, ‹The Good-natured
feminist: Ecofeminism and democracyŠ in Roger Keil et al (eds.), Political Ecology: Global and Local
(Routledge, 1998) [kit]
David Schlosberg ‹The
Justice of Environmental Justice: Reconciling Equity, Recognition, and
Participation in a Political MovementŠ
in Andrew Light and Avner deShalit (eds.), Moral and Political Reasoning in
Environmental Practice (MIT Press, 2003). [online]
Nov 8
Nature and the American Dream
Henry David Thoreau,
Roderick Nash, ‹The Wilderness CultŠ in Wilderness and the American Mind revised ed. (Yale UP, 1973) [kit]
William Cronon, ‹The Trouble with Wilderness;
or, Getting Back to the Wrong NatureŠ in Uncommon Ground: Toward Reinventing
Nature (W.W. Norton, 1995)
[online]
Nov 15
‹Our Home and
Aldo Leopold, ‹The Land EthicŠ in Sand County Almanac (Oxford UP, 1949)
[kit]
Dianne Meredith, ‹The Bioregion as Communitarian Micro-Region (and its Limitations),Š Ethics, Place and Environment 8, 1 (March 2005) [pdf on ACME]
Erin Manning,
"I AM CANADIAN: Identity, Territory and the Canadian National Landscape." Theory & Event 4, 4 (2000) [online]
Nov 22
Overconsumption and Empire: Advertising and Automobility
Frank Coleman, ‹Picking the 'Locke' of
'Nature‰s Nation': Nature, National Landscape, and the Ad IndustryŠ Capitalism Nature Socialism 16, 3 (Sept.
2005) [online via proquest as pdf
or
full text]
Shane Gunster, ‹You Belong Outside:
Advertising, Nature, and the SUVŠ Ethics
and the Environment 9, 2 (2004) [pdf on ACME]
Matthew Paterson and Simon Dalby, ‹Empire‰s
Ecological TyreprintsŠ Environmental
Politics 15, 1 (2006) [pdf on ACME]
Nov 29
Environmentalism, Community, Citizenship: Where to from here?
James Anderson, ‹Only Sustainá The
Environment, ‹Anti-Globalization,Š and the Runaway BicycleŠ in JosÚe Johnston,
James Goodman, and Michael Gismondi (eds.), Nature‰s Revenge: Reclaiming Sustainability
in an Age of Corporate Globalization (Garamond, 2006)
[kit]
Graham Smith, ‹Liberal Democracy and the
Shaping of Environmentally Enlightened Citizens,Š in Marcel Wissenburg and Yoram
Levy (eds.), Liberal Democracy and
Environmentalism: The end of environmentalism? (Routledge, 2004)
[kit]
Kate Soper, ‹Rethinking the Good Life: The Consumer as CitizenŠ in Capitalism Nature Socialism 15, 3 (Sept. 2004) [online via proquest as pdf or full text]
Assignment: Essay due
In
class: take-home exam questions distributed (exam due Dec.
19)
Grading &
Assignments
The following will
be used in the determination of your final grade for this course. Please read
the instructions for each assignment carefully: it is your responsibility to
complete all assignments properly. Short written assignments (reviews) and the
final (take-home) exam should be submitted electronically; essays should be
submitted in hard copy (paper). For all written assignments, save copies of your
work (including notes, drafts, etc.), and be sure to cite all sources properly.
Presenting someone else‰s work as your own (plagiarism) is a serious academic
offense: in senior-level courses such as this one, a typical penalty is a grade
of zero on the assignment or in the course.
Reading reviews: A total of six (MA students: seven)
short reading reviews will be written over the term. These
review should be just two paragraphs in length. The first paragraph should
explain an argument in the reading (either the overall thesis, or a subsidiary
argument) that you thought was interesting, important, or provocative. The
second paragraph should analyze this argument, providing some criticism,
extending it, or contextualizing it. You may choose any six (MA students: seven)
readings to review, with the following exceptions:
- you may not submit more than one review per
week;
- you may not submit a review for the reading
covered by your seminar presentation;
- reviews must be submitted by 4:30 pm the
day before the class in which we will discuss the reading (late reviews will
not be accepted);
- AND you must be present in class on the day
in which the reading is discussed.
Five of the reviews
will be marked on a pass/fail basis (1 mark each). One (MA students: Two) of the
reviews will be graded and worth 5% (each) of your final mark. You should
clearly indicate which review(s) you want to be graded WHEN YOU SUBMIT
IT.
Seminar presentation: One seminar presentation (about 15 minutes in
length). Presentations should cover the key themes of
the reading, and raise issues or questions for discussion. Please remember that
everyone else will have done the reading, as well, so while a brief
summary may be in order, the presentation must do more than merely restate the
author‰s arguments. No more than one student may present on each reading,
although there may be more than one presentation in a class session.
Presentation topics will be chosen in class on September 13. The presentation is
worth 10% of your final mark.
Essay: Choice of topics is open, although it must be
relevant to the course: it should deal with an environmental issue(s), and
involve some theoretical exploration and analysis. Possibilities include, but
are not limited to, a critical examination or comparison of particular
thinker(s) or school(s) of thought; the application of a particular theory to a
specific environmental problem; or an examination of the ways in which a
particular environmental issue does or should change the way we think about
politics or particular political concepts. Essays should be about 3500-4000
words (MA students: 5000 words) in length. Students are encouraged to consult
with the instructor about their choice of topic, and to start thinking about and
working on the essay early in the term. A brief essay proposal (about 300
words) and preliminary bibliography, worth 5% of the final mark, will be due on
Friday Oct 13. The essay, worth 25% (MA students: 30%) of the final mark, will
be due on the last day of class.
Critical Ecologies workshop assignment: a review of either a single paper
(presentation), or a single panel, at the Critical
Ecologies workshop. The review should be similar in format to the reading
reviews (above). However, the descriptive component can be slightly longer (for
example by dealing with more than one argument), and the analytical component
should include a question or comment that could be raised with the
author(s) about their paper(s). You can actually raise the question or comment
during the workshop, but are not required to do so. This assignment is due on
Friday Oct. 27, and is worth 5% of your final mark.
Class participation: Since this is a seminar course, a large part
of its success of course will depend on students‰ regular attendance and active
participation in class discussion. I will work to make the classroom environment
hospitable to open discussion and to ensure that everyone gets a chance to
speak, but ultimately it is your responsibility to come to class able and
willing to engage with the course material. If you are (or anticipate) having
problems in this regard, please talk to me about it. If you have to miss a
class, please let me know in advance (if possible). More than two unexcused
absences during the term will adversely affect your participation mark. Class
participation is worth 20% (MA students: 15%) of your final
mark
Exam: The
final exam for this course will be a take home exam. It will be comprehensive
(covering all the course material). Questions will be distributed in the last
class (Nov. 29). As per university regulations, it will be due no later than the
last day of the exam schedule (Dec. 19). More information on the exam will be
provided closer to the end of term. The exam will be worth 25% (MA students:
20%) of your final mark.
Note regarding
reading reviews and seminar presentation: While students are free to choose the
dates for these assignments, please note that the deadline to drop fall term
courses without academic penalty is Oct. 27. It is therefore recommended that
students either do either their seminar presentation or their 5-mark reading
review (or both) by Oct 11th.
|
|
Undergraduates |
Graduates |
Due date |
|
|
5x1 = 5 |
5x1 = 5 |
Varies |
|
|
1x5 = 5 |
2x5 = 10 |
Varies |
|
Presentation |
10 |
10 |
Varies |
|
Essay Proposal |
5 |
5 |
Oct. 13 |
|
Essay |
25 |
30 |
Nov. 29 |
|
Critical Ecologies review |
5 |
5 |
Oct. 27 |
|
Exam |
25 |
20 |
Dec. 19 |
|
Participation |
20 |
15 |
all term |
|
Total |
100 |
100 |
|
Critical Ecologies
Workshop
A workshop will be
held Oct. 19-21 here at
Recommended/ background
readings
This course deals
with material that may be particularly challenging for students who have little
background in political philosophy and/or environmental politics. The following
readings may help to orient you in terms of the field and the sorts of questions
and issues that we will be dealing with in this course: I won‰t presume
knowledge of any of the specific arguments and issues raised in these readings,
but they might help to get you into the mental space that we will try to occupy
in this course. Accordingly, they are likely to be most useful to you if they
are read as early in the term as possible, i.e. before we start exploring these
issues in greater depth. How much you should read will depend on your comfort
level coming into the course in terms of discussing environmental issues, and/or
dealing with political issues at a more philosophical/ theoretical/ abstract
level.
I. Political
Philosophy: This section is
primarily for those who do not have the political philosophy prerequisite (2346
or 2646) for the course. There are a number of relatively short introductory
political philosophy texts, but I have yet to find one that I think is really
good. Horowitz & Horowitz is somewhat selective, but is a good introduction
to modern political theory, and (apart from the chapter on Hegel) not too
difficult. The other two books listed are more comprehensive (therefore longer),
covering the political theory ‹canonŠ š most or all of the widely recognized
Western political philosophers of the last 2500 years. Both are very good, but
they are quite different: Klosko provides more of an overview; Wolin is more
explicitly tracing a political-philosophical argument.
Asher Horowitz & Gad Horowitz, Everywhere They Are in Chains: Political Theory from Rousseau to Marx (Nelson Canada, 1988)
George Klosko, History of Political Theory (2 vols) (Harcourt Brace 1993)
Sheldon Wolin, Politics and Vision, revised ed. (
II. Environmental
Politics: This section is
for those with a limited knowledge of the politics of environmental issues. As
with political philosophy, there are a lot of relatively short and accessible
introductory texts. In this case, many of them are good. I‰ve listed four that I
would seriously consider as textbooks for a course in environmental politics
(but there are plenty of other good ones):
John Barry and Robyn
Eckersley (eds), The State and Global
Ecological Crisis (MIT Press, 2005)
Ramachandra Guha, Environmentalism: A Global History
(Longman, 2000)
Ronnie Lipschutz, Global Environmental Politics (CQ Press,
2004)
Matthew Paterson, Understanding Global Environmental
Politics (Palgrave, 2001)
III.
Environmental Political Theory: The following are all, at least to some
extent, surveys of environmental thought/ environmental political theory. They
range from the short and selective (the Chaloupka essay is a review of 5
specific books) to the long and comprehensive (the Hay book is 400 pages). The
books are either too ‹textbook-yŠ to be the basis for a seminar course, or else
slightly off in terms of focus from what I want to cover in the course,
otherwise I might have ordered one or more of them for purchase for the
course.
Avner de-Shalit,
‹Thirty Years of Environmental Theory: From Value Theory and Meta-Ethics to
Political TheoryŠ Critical Review of
International Social and Political Philosophy 9, 1 (March
2006)
William Chaloupka,
‹Green Naturalism: The Politicization of Environmental TheoryŠ Political Theory 31, 6 (Dec.
2003)
John Barry, Environment and Social Theory
(Routledge, 1999)
John Dryzek, The Politics of the Earth,
2nd ed. (
Robyn Eckersley, Environmentalism and Political Theory:
Toward an Ecocentric Approach (SUNY Press, 1992)
Peter Hay, Main Currents in Western Environmental
Thought (UNSW Press, 2002)
Joel Kassiola (ed.),
Explorations in Environmental Political
Theory: Thinking about What We Value (M.E. Sharpe,
2003)
IV. On the
problem of ‹natureŠ: This
will be one of the central themes of the course š what do we mean by ‹natureŠ
(or ‹environmentŠ), and what are the political implications of different
meanings? š so will be dealt with by some of the required readings, as well. But
the way that the course is structured, it is not explicitly foregrounded early
on. These two well-known (in the field) readings each provide a good (but
different) overview of the debate and what is at stake in it.
Raymond Williams, ‹Ideas of NatureŠ in Problems in Materialism and Culture (Verso, 1980), pp.67-85
Kate Soper, What is Nature? Culture, Politics and the Non-Human (Blackwell, 1995)