Environmental Sociology - American Sociological Association

major domains: energy (production and/or consumption), water (oceans and/or freshwater
ecosystems), agriculture (farming practices and/or food production), undeveloped areas (such as
forests, grasslands, or coastal regions), or atmosphere (air quality and/or climate change). Within one
of these five broad areas, you are free to select any particular topic or region that interests you. To
help narrow your focus, you should take a case-study approach: research processes of environmental
and social change in a specific place (such as the Amazon rainforest or the Gulf of Maine fishery),
and consider how your case study relates to larger global trends. At the end of the semester, students
will use their research to contribute to one of five group presentations that correspond to the major
topic areas listed above. The paper constitutes 17 percent of the final grade; the presentation is worth
the remaining 3 percent. Students will receive a detailed handout on the final paper and the group
presentation early in the semester.
GRADING POLICIES: I assign grades using the UNH grading scale: A = Excellent, B = Superior, C =
Satisfactory, D = Marginal, and F = Failing. Numerical equivalents for this course are: 100-96.0 = A;
95.9-92.0 = A−; 91.9-88.0 = B+; 87.9-84.0 = B; 83.9-80.0 = B−; 79.9-76.0 = C+; 75.9-72.0 = C; 71.9-
68.0 = C−; 67.9-64.0 = D+; 63.9-60.0 = D; 59.9-56.0 = D−; below 56.0 = F. Late work loses 2 points
per calendar day; work that is not submitted by semester’s end receives a grade of zero. To insure that
everyone has the same chance to do well in the course, extra credit assignments are not available.
Submitted work should be typed, double-spaced, paginated, and completely backed-up (computer file
and/or hard copy). All assignments are due in class on the specified date; do not turn in floppy disks or
send papers by e-mail. Graded work will be returned in a timely manner, generally, the class session
after it is submitted. You may pick up any unclaimed exams and papers for up to one semester after the
course ends. Academic honesty must be observed at all times. UNH policies are printed in the Student
Rights, Rules, and Responsibilities handbook.
INTERNET RESOURCES: Course materials will be available at
http://pubpages.unh.edu/~cliffb/soc655.html. Please let me know if I can make any changes to the
website that will make this resource more useful. Also, the Sociology Department web page
(http://www.unh.edu/sociology) includes information about the sociology major, the faculty, course
offerings, and internet links. Both sites are good places to begin independent research for projects related
to this course.
COURSE SCHEDULE:
1/22 Tues. Course Introduction
• Questions: What is sociology? What is this course about? What are the requirements
and expectations?
1/24 Thur. Central Issues in Environmental Sociology
• Questions: What are the origins of environmental sociology? What do environmental
sociologists study?
• Read: Humphrey, Lewis, & Buttel, Ch. 1
1/29 Tues. Social Theory and Environmental Paradigms
• Questions: What are the conservative, managerial, and radical paradigms in
environmental sociology? What are the strengths and limitations of each?
• Read: Humphrey, Lewis, & Buttel, Ch. 2
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