Course Syllabus

Environmental Injustice

Anthropology 25A

Fall 2019  

Teaching Team + Office Hours

Professor Kim Fortun, kfortun@uci.edu 

Student hours: Wednesdays 3:00-4:00pm, SBSG 321, https://ucisocsci.zoom.us/j/354734156

Graduate Teaching Associate Kaitlyn Rabach, krabach@uci.edu 

Student hours: Thursdays, 1:00-2:00pm, SBSG 3302, https://zoom.us/j/2846272345 

Graduate Teaching Associate Tim Schütz, tschuetz@uci.edu

Student Hours: Thursdays, 12:00-01:00pm, SBSG 3309, https://ucisocsci.zoom.us/j/3141875287

Undergraduate Teaching Associate Nina Parshekofteh, nparshek@uci.edu

Undergraduate Teaching Associate Lafayette Pierre White, lpwhite@uci.edu

In this course, we’ll study environmental disasters, pollution, and the causes and impacts of climate change -- and how these impact human health and worsen social inequalities. We’ll also study how people have become environmental activists to find and advocate for solutions. 

The course includes many documentary films to provide a sense of what environmental injustice looks like in everyday life. We’ll analyze the films using techniques used when cultural anthropologists do field research. One goal of the course is to show you how anthropological research helps explain and can help solve environmental problems. 

You’ll learn to do collaborative, case study research -- focusing on environmentally stressed communities in California. You’ll learn to research and identify solutions to environmental problems, refining your own ethical values and political positions. 

The course examines many different factors that contribute to environmental problems (social, political, economic, biochemical, technological). It is designed to give students in different majors (in the social and natural sciences, public health, engineering, urban planning and the humanities) the opportunity to work together in interdisciplinary research teams, leveraging their different skills. Through collaborative work with other students, engaging different points of view, you’ll develop your own environmental and professional ethics. You’ll also develop research skills that can be used in other courses, independent research and many job settings. 

The course draws on the instructors’s research experience at many sites of environmental injustice -- in the United States, India, China, Japan, and Taiwan.

COURSE OVERVIEW

The course focuses on a new topic every two weeks. Weeks 3-4, 5-6, and 7-8 you’ll do collaborative case study research. Weeks 9-10, you’ll work in a group to produce a Position Paper. See this great tutorial for building your collaborative work skills! 

Weeks 1-2, our focus will be on “Homo Toxicus” (watching a film by the same name), exploring the pervasiveness of toxic chemicals, impacts on human health and the problems people face when looking for solutions (including toxic political systems!). We’ll also discuss how anthropologists study environmental health problems and how you can develop your own political perspectives on environmental issues. 

Weeks 3-4, we’ll focus on fast disasters and “worst case scenarios” (as when chemical or nuclear plants blow up), starting with the story of the 1984 chemical plant disaster in Bhopal, India. In Week 4 you’ll work in a group to document potential for “worst case scenarios” in communities in California. 

Weeks 5-6, we’ll work on the slow disasters caused by routine air, water and soil pollution -- considering what has happened in places like Flint, Michigan and East Los Angeles (where a battery recycling plant contaminated the surrounding community). In Week 6, you’ll build case studies about these problems caused by slow disasters in different communities in California. 

Weeks 7-8, we’ll study the causes, impacts and efforts to respond to climate change. We’ll learn how global warming punishes the world’s poorest people and about bumbled responses by government, especially in the United States. We’ll also study how powerful corporations have shaped (and undermined) response to climate change. In Week 8, you’ll build case studies about climate change impacts and planning in California. 

Weeks 9-10, we’ll zoom back out to think about the history and future of environmental movements, thinking together about the kinds of environmental education, organizing and governance we’ll need in the future. In Week 10, you’ll work on a group Position Paper. 

The final exam -- Wednesday, December 11, 7:00-9:00pm -- will focus on key concepts that you can take away from the course to help you analyze a wide array of environmental problems and political issues. 

GRADING

You will build your course grade with the following assignments:

5 quizzes	15%
10 discussion posts (2 for each topical section)	10%
4 position posts	10%
group position paper	10%
15 case study posts	15%
3 group case studies	15%
cumulative exam	25%

 

Grades will automatically be reduced 1% per hour (24% per day) if they are late. During weeks during which there is group work, you will only receive credit for 50% of the group grade if your individual contributions aren’t submitted by Wednesday 11:59pm of that week. 

Participation will be graded in reverse. We’ll assume that all students are in the course to learn and will demonstrate the highest standards of academic integrity and collegiality. Should these expectations not be met, we will reduce your grade as much as 10% per week. 

Due to the collaborative nature of this course, you are required to attend your discussion section each week. You are advised to attend the Wednesday night lectures, but it is not a requirement. 

Final grades will be based on points accumulated through attendance, assignments and exams, based on a straight grading scale, i.e.: A: 94-100; A-:90-93; B+:86-89; B:82-85; B-:79-81; C+:76-78: C:72-75; C-:69-71; D 60-69

LEARNING OUTCOMES

By the end of this course, you will be able to: 

1. Analyze different types of environmental health threats and factors that make it difficult to reduce these threats. 
2. Analyze different stakeholders in environmental health, recognizing how poverty, racism and other social factors contribute to environmental vulnerability. 
3. Analyze different types of injustice that occur along with environmental health hazards. 
4. Identify ways to reduce environmental health threats and injustice. 
5. Better articulate your own ethical values, professional commitments, and political perspectives.
6. Work collaboratively to rapidly produce case study research.
7. Use diverse digital tools supporting research and collaboration. 
   
   

ASSIGNMENT DETAILS 

More specific assignment details are available in our CANVAS site. Questions about the course can be posted on the “Course Workings” discussion board. 

All citations in assignments should use The Chicago Manual of Style author-date system. See https://www.chicagomanualofstyle.org/tools_citationguide/citation-guide-1.html 

Reading, Watching, Quizzing

We’ve chosen readings, talks and films for this course that will teach you about different kinds of environmental health threats and how they are impacting different communities. Throughout, we want you to consider these questions: Why is it hard so far to reduce environmental health threats? Why are environmental health threats worse in poor communities, especially communities of color? How are environmental health threats unjust? What can be done? 

Our goal is to strengthen your capacity to analyze environmental health problems. We want you to pay attention to the details of the cases you learn about but we won’t expect you to memorize them. We do want you to learn and remember concepts that will help you analyze these cases. The exam at the end of the course will focus on these concepts. 

You’ll watch many films. We want you to watch these films like a film critic -- thinking 1about how they deliver their message, how effective they are, and what you would change about them. We also want you to watch these films like an anthropologist -- identifying different stakeholders, noting how they perceive the problems they face, thinking about what shapes their perceptions and ability to act on their problems. Finally, we want you to watch the films like an environmental activist, looking for ways to reduce environmental health threats. 

For each topical section of the course (every two weeks), you’ll take a quiz about course readings, talks and films. You’ll also contribute (at least) two posts to a Discussion Board. Each post will be given points for the following: 1) adequate length (approximately 200 words) 2) clarity and good writing 3) including a specific example 4) including a reference (to either assigned or extra material) 5) including a question that you are left with.

Position Posts and Papers

This course is designed to give you the opportunity to think through and develop perspectives on difficult ethical and political questions. Our focus is environmental health and injustice but what you learn about yourself and ways to refine your thinking about issues (partly through research; partly through reflection on your own values) will be relevant in a wide array of topical domains (in your personal and professional lives).  We will ask you to develop positions on particular issues -- knowing that you may not have a strong or any position on the issues to start with. You’ll need to do a little research and reading, and are encouraged to talk through the issues with your classmates, friends and family.  

You’ll write individual position posts and (in the last section of the course) contribute to a group Position Paper. You will not be graded on which position you take. You will be graded on the quality of your arguments and supporting evidence 

Each individual position post will be given points for 1) answering the question posed 2) reasoning 3) including a specific example  4) clarity and good writing 5) adequate length (approximately 200 words) 6) including a reference in Chicago author-date style 7) include an author bio statement (see http://www.ssa.uchicago.edu/examples-biographical-statement-and-abstract). 

 

Sample Position Post

QUESTION: Should the United States require individuals to reduce their carbon footprint? In my view, the United States should pass laws that require individuals to restrict activities that produce carbon pollution.  While some people may think this would undermine constitutionally-protected liberties, there is a clear precedent and reasons for laws that prevent people from doing things that harm others.  We are required to stop at stop signs, for example, and there are bans on smoking in most public places. Failing to curb carbon pollution also harms others, though sometimes across great distances or time.  The activities of people living in the United States create disproportionately large amounts of carbon pollution, with particularly harsh impacts on people living in the Arctic, on islands, and on low-lying coastlines.  In the United States, carbon pollution is contributing to extreme weather events, and is expected to create increasing water scarcity -- negatively impacting current populations as well as future generations. Course materials documenting the impacts of climate change on Bangladesh influenced our thinking on this question.  It seems particularly unfair for people who are already among the poorest in the world to be impacted by pollution caused by people living much better and very far away. Sea level rise and melting glaciers (both associated with climate change) are already causing regular, sometimes permanent, catastrophic floods in Bangladesh, for example, and conditions are expected to worsen in coming years. Robert Glennon (2017), writing in Scientific American, highlights that the people of Bangladesh are greatly affected by such changes while not being significant contributors to the cause of the problem. The country as a whole emits just 0.3% of global greenhouse gas emissions (Glennon 2017). “  (270 words) Reference Glennon, Robert. 2017. “The Unfolding Tragedy of Climate Change in Bangladesh.” Scientific American Blog Network. April 21, 2017. https://blogs.scientificamerican.com/guest-blog/the-unfolding-tragedy-of-climate-change-in-bangladesh/ Biostatement  Deepa Sarkar is a third year civil engineering student at University of Califorinia Irvine.  She is interested in climate change mitigation and plans a career focused on transportation alteratives to private vehicles.

Case Studies

Case study analysis is used in many different kinds of research so the methods and analytic skills you learn in this course are likely to be useful in your later work. In groups, you’ll develop three case study reports: the first focused on environmental threats from “worst case scenarios” (when chemical plants explode, for example), the second focused on routine air, water and soil pollution, and the third focused on climate change. 

In case study analysis, a key challenge is to develop a set of questions that can be used to examine different cases. See below the questions we’ll use to develop environmental injustice case studies focused on communities in California.

Environmental Injustice Case Study Questions

What is the setting of this case? What environmental threats (from worst case scenarios, pollution and climate change) are there in this setting?  What intersecting factors -- social, cultural, political, technological, ecological -- contribute to environmental health vulnerability and injustice in this setting?  Who are stakeholders, what are their characteristics, and what are their perceptions of the problems? What have different stakeholder groups done (or not done) in response to the problems in this case?  How have big media outlets and environmental organizations covered environmental problems in this setting?  What local actions would reduce environmental vulnerability and injustice in this setting? What extra-local actions (at state, national or international levels) would reduce environmental vulnerability and injustice in this setting and similar settings? What kinds of data and research would be useful in efforts to characterize and address environmental threats in this setting and similar settings?  What, in your view, is ethically wrong or unjust in this case?

Cumulative Exam

Your final (cumulative) exam will be multiple choice questions focused on key concepts highlighted throughout the course. All quizzes and the final, cumulative exams are open-book. You are free to review and discuss the quizzes and exams with peers before taking them. Once you open the quiz or exam to complete for a grade, you should work on your own. 

COURSE SCHEDULE 

The course is organized with key due dates on Tuesday and Saturday nights (at 11:59pm). Modules for each week will be be available no later than Sunday at 12:00 am PDT. 
 

EiJ Fall 2019 Weekly Schedule
Homo Toxicus
WEEK 1 October 2	Wednesday	lecture
	Thurs/Fri	section meetings
	Saturday	nothing due this week
WEEK 2 October 8	Tuesday	due: quiz + 2 discussion posts
	Wednesday	lecture
	Thurs/Fri	section meetings
	Saturday	due: 2 position posts
FAST DISASTER
WEEK 3 October 15	Tuesday	due: quiz + 2 discussion posts
	Wednesday	lecture
	Thurs/Fri	section meetings
	Saturday	due: 2 case study resource posts
WEEK 4 October 22	Tuesday	due: 3 case study posts
	Wednesday	lecture
	Thurs/Fri	section meetings
	Saturday	due: group case study
SLOW DISASTER
WEEK 5 October 29	Tuesday	due: quiz + 2 discussion posts
	Wednesday	lecture
	Thurs/Fri	section meetings
	Saturday	due: 2 case study resource posts
WEEK 6 November 5	Tuesday	due: 3 case study posts
	Wednesday	lecture
	Thurs/Fri	section meetings
	Saturday	due: group case study
COMBO DISASTER
WEEK 7 November 12	Tuesday	due: quiz + discussion posts
	Wednesday	lecture
	Thurs/Fri	section meetings
	Saturday	due: 2 case study resource posts
WEEK 8 November 19 (AAA)	Tuesday	due: 3 case study posts
	Wednesday	lecture
	Thurs/Fri	section meetings
	Saturday	due: group case study
ENVIRONMENTAL MOVEMENTS
WEEK 9 November 26 (Thanksgiving)	Tuesday	due: quiz + discussion posts
	Wednesday	lecture
	Thurs/Fri	holiday
	Saturday
WEEK 10 December 3	Tuesday	due: 2 position posts
	Wednesday	lecture
	Thurs/Fri	section meetings
	Saturday	due: group position paper
EXAM WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 11, 7-8:30PM

ACADEMIC INTEGRITY

We are teaching this course to give you the opportunity to learn. We are dedicated to helping you refine your analytic skills and advance the sophistication of your thinking -- in general, and about environmental problems in particular. If you cheat, you won’t learn. 

There are many ways to cheat in a college course, especially when taught online. Academic integrity thus depends on your values, goals, and practices. Academic integrity is not just a set of rules to follow but a way of thinking about yourself, your education and what you want in the future. 

But please remember: cheating is against UCI rules and will lead to failure in your courses and possibly expulsion from UCI. 

Here is a link to UCI’s Academic Integrity Policy. This is the core of it: 

Academic misconduct, in its most basic form, is gaining or attempting to gain a grade, degree, or other academic accomplishment by any means other than through your own work. No student shall engage in any activity that involves attempting to receive a grade by means other than honest effort, and shall not aid another student who is attempting to do so.

Here are UCI”s responses to Frequently Asked Questions about Academic Dishonesty, mostly focused on what happens after a charge is made. 

Here is a quiz you can take to test and develop your understanding of academic dishonesty (in our course specifically).