MANUEL S.
ENVERGA UNIVERSITY FOUNDATION
An Autonomous University
LUCENA CITY
INTRO TO ENVI SOCIOLOGY AND ITS
THEORIES
Renato M. Vergara, PhD
[email protected] +63917-9090-425
RENATO M. VERGARA, PhD
Department Chair, Natural Science and Mathematics
Department
Professor I-C
PhD in Science Education major in Physics(DLSU,
2019)
MS in Environmental Management (PWU, 2003)
Licensed Mining Engineer
20 Years Teaching Experience
BS Mining Engineering (Mapua Institute of Technology,
1982)
Other Position: Pollution Control Officer
COURSE DESCRIPTION: Environmental
Sociology
• This course examines interactions between human societies
and the natural environment, with the understanding that the
organization of human society has environmental
consequences, and environmental problems, in turn, affect
human societies. This course will look beyond scientific basis
for environmental problems to understand the social roots of
environmental issues, asking questions such as how do the
technologies, consumption and production patterns, population
trends, status systems, religion and culture societies affect
emergence of, and reactions to, environmental problems.
Course Credit:3 units
COURSE OBJECTIVES
1. Identify course concepts, theories, and perspectives in the study of
environmental sociology.
2. Critically analyze the reciprocal relationship between human society
and the natural environment.
3. Critically view and analyze environmental problems associated
within contemporary society.
4. Understand changes in the natural environment through a
sociological perspective.
5. Investigate how the risks and harms of environmental problems are
distributed across societies to understand the relationship between
social systems and environmental inequalities.
6. Explore the origins and impacts of environmental movements
seeking environmental justice.
• Suggested References
•
• Gould, K. A. & Lewis, T. L. (2009). Twenty Lessons in
• Environmental Sociology. New York: Oxford University
• Press.
•
• Electronic Sources:
•
• Introduction to Sociology. Available: https://courses.lumenlearning.com/wm-
introductiontosociology/chapter/environmental-sociology/2023
•
• Course Requirements:
• Major Examination
• Mid-term 30%
• Finals 30%
• Assignments/Projects 30%
• Attendance 10%
• 100%
• COURSE CONTENT
•
•
• Part I: Course orientation/Theories
•
• Introduction to Environmental Sociology
•
• The Social Construction of Nature: Of Computers, Butterflies, Dogs
and
• Trucks
•
• Theories in Environmental Sociology
•
•
• Part II: Systemic Causes of Environmental Disruption
•
• Labor Productivity and the Environment
•
• Corporate Power: The Role of the Global Media in Shaping What we
• Know about the Environment
•
• Technological Change and the Environment
•
• Population, Demography and the Environment
•
• Energy, Society and the Environment
•
• Part III Some Social Consequences of Environmental Disruption
Environmental Inequality and Environmental Justice
•
• Sociology of Environmental Health
•
• Understanding Disaster Vulnerability: Floods and Hurricanes
•
• Climate Change
• Part IV: Some Social Responses to Environmental Disruption
•
•
• Normalizing the Unthinkable: Climate Denial and Everyday Life
•
• Environmental Social Movements
•
• The Paradoxes of Sustainable Development: Focus on Ecotourism
•
• Conclusion: Unanswered Questions and the Future of Environmental
• Sociology
•
•
•
•
•
•
EVALUATION METHOD
• 1. Ecological footprint activity
• 2. Five reading responses activity
• 3.Environmental Change activity
• 4. Environmental Change paper
• 5. Gross National Happiness activity
• 6.Environmental Justice case study
Part 1
INTRO TO ENVIRONMENTAL
SOCIOLOGY
Environmental sociology is typically defined as the sociological
study of societal-environmental interactions, although this definition
immediately presents the perhaps insolvable problem of separating
human cultures from the rest of the environment. Although the focus
of the field is the relationship between society and environment in
general, environmental sociologists typically place special emphasis
on studying the social factors that cause environmental problems,
the societal impacts of those problems, and efforts to solve the
problems. In addition, considerable attention is paid to the social
processes by which certain environmental conditions become
socially defined as problems.
History
Modern thought surrounding human-environment
relations is traced back to Charles Darwin. Darwin’s
concept of natural selection suggested that certain social
characteristics played a key role in the survivability of
groups in the natural environment. Although typically
taken at the micro level, evolutionary principles,
particularly adaptability, serve as a microcosm of human
ecology. Work by Humphrey and Buttel (2002) traces
the linkages between Darwin's work on natural
selection, human ecological sociology, and
environmental sociology.
It became recognized in the latter half of the 20th century that biological
determinism failed to fully explain the relationship between humans and the
environment. As the application of social determinism became more useful, the role
of sociology became more pervasive in analyzing environmental conditions. At first,
classical sociology saw social and cultural factors as the only cause of other social
and cultural conditions. This lens ignored the concept of environmental determinism
or the environmental factors that cause social phenomena.
The works of William R. Catton, Jr. and Riley Dunlap challenged the constricted
anthropocentrism of classical sociology. In the late 1970s, they called for a new
holistic, or systems perspective. Since the 1970s, sociology has noticeably
transformed to include environmental forces in social explanations. Environmental
sociology emerged as a coherent subfield of inquiry after the environmental
movement of the 1960s and early 1970s. It has now solidified as a respected,
interdisciplinary subject in academia.
CONCEPTS
Existential dualism
The duality of the human condition rests with cultural uniqueness and evolutionary traits. From one
perspective, humans are embedded in the ecosphere and coevolved alongside other species. Humans share
the same basic ecological dependencies as other inhabitants of nature. From the other perspective, humans
are distinguished from other species because of their innovative capacities, distinct cultures and varied
institutions. Human creations have the power to independently manipulate, destroy, and transcend the
limits of the natural environment (Buttel and Humphrey, 2002: p.47).
Support for each perspective varies among different communities. Biologists and ecologists typically put
more weight on the first perspective. Social scientists, on the other hand, emphasize the second
perspective. This division has shaped the foundation for the primary paradigms of environmental
sociology.
CONCEPTS
Societal-environmental dialectic
In 1975, the highly influential work of Allan Schnaiberg transfigured environmental sociology,
proposing a societal-environmental dialectic. This conflictual concept has overwhelming political
salience. First, the economic synthesis states that the desire for economic expansion will prevail
over ecological concerns. Policy will decide to maximize immediate economic growth at the
expense of environmental disruption. Secondly, the managed scarcity synthesis concludes that
governments will attempt to control only the most dire of environmental problems to prevent health
and economic disasters. This will give the appearance that governments act more environmentally
conscious than they really do. Third, the ecological synthesis generates a hypothetical case where
environmental degradation is so severe that political forces would respond with sustainable policies.
The driving factor would be economic damage caused by environmental degradation. The economic
engine would be based on renewable resources at this point. Production and consumption methods
would adhere to sustainability regulations.
. THEORIES IN ENVI SOCIOLOGY
(Twenty lessons in Envi Soc…)
BY Justin Sean Myers
1. Ecological Modernization
Theory
2. Treadmill of Production
3. Ecological Marxism
4.World Systems Theory
5. Risk Society
6. Ecofeminism
Theories-Envi Sociology
(Summary)
This lesson discusses the major theoretical
approaches in the field of environmental sociology
through a focus on the iPhone.
It first discusses what social science-oriented
theories are and how they shape our investigation
and understanding of socioenvironmental
relations. It then explores ecological
modernization, treadmill of production, ecological
Marxism, world systems, risk society, and
ecological feminism through investigating how
each of these theories studies socioenvironmental
relations.
Continuation….
In doing so, the lesson compares and contrasts the
philosophical assumptions, levels of analysis, and
empirical findings of these theories as well as their
similarities and differences on key debates in
environmental sociology: what is driving ecological
degradation; whether capitalism can green itself;
the role of technology and democracy in creating a
sustainable society; the interrelationship between
race, class, and gender in shaping
socioenvironmental relations, and who benefits and
bears the burdens of environmental change and
degradation.
In closing, the lesson summarizes the main
components and the key takeaways from each theory
that will be helpful in your study of socioenvironmental
relations.
The Social Construction of Nature:
Of computers, Butterflies, Dogs
and Trucks
This lesson draws on several theories from
environmental sociology to illustrate the wide
range of interests and levels of analysis that are
characteristic of the field. Included are a micro-
level concept, “naturework,” that comes out of
symbolic interactionist theory, as well as macro-
level theories of
globalization and modernization that explore
how space and time are being experienced in new
ways by human beings. The context for these
micro- and macro-level structures is a global
capitalist system shaped by a “treadmill” logic of
economic competition.
Continuation….
To illustrate and apply theories of environmental
sociology, three “snapshot” scenes are included that
invite us to imagine real people in actual situations: a
person throwing a can out of the window of a
speeding truck; a person sitting at the keyboard of a
computer, making a fast connection on the Internet;
and a person physically dismantling a computer that
has been “thrown away” in the United States and
exported to an“e-waste processing center” in another
country. Although these
snapshots are only three out of many possibilities,
they offer an excellent opportunity to connect
structures across time and space and to learn about
the insights and creative uses of theory
THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR
LISTENING!!!
