Environmental Social Science

Environmental Social Science Secondary Core, a graduate area of curriculum concentration.

Introduction

The Environmental Social Science secondary core in the Environmental Studies Department at the University of Colorado at Boulder brings together campus wide strength in research and training in the social aspects of environmental issues. Through a combination of courses, the Environmental Social Science secondary core aims to generally educate graduate students to critically consider:

  • the ways in which societal processes reflect environmental context;
  • the ways in which environmental contexts are impacted by societal processes;
  • the mediating factors that shape human-environment interactions such as media, organizations, policy, and human values;
  • the application of social science research methods to the study of environmental issues.

The curriculum incorporates an overview of general environmental social science issues, including various theoretical perspectives used to understand human-environment interactions. In addition, students will take a course in core social science methodologies. There is sufficient flexibility within the curriculum to allow students the opportunity to pursue topics of particular substantive areas of relevance for their own professional development.

Environmental Social Science Core Courses:

There are two required courses:

(1) Environment and Society
Until developed within ENVS, students may choose overview courses from relevant departments. Details available from the graduate advisor.

(2) Social Science Research Methods
Until developed within ENVS, students may choose courses from relevant departments. Details available from the graduate advisor.

Environmental Social Science electives:

For the MS, 21 additional hours are required including 6 thesis credits for the Plan I thesis option or 2 required internship credits for the Plan II non-thesis option. For the PhD, 27 additional course credits are required for a total of 42 credits. These courses should be selected in consultation of the student’s advisor, with special attention paid to scheduling and prerequisites.

Courses of Relevance

  • ANTH 4060/5060 Nutrition and Anthropology
  • ANTH 4630/5630 Nomad Peoples/E Africa
  • ANTH 5600 Human Ecology: Cultural Aspects
  • ANTH 5150 Human Ecology: Biological Aspects
  • ANTH 5750 Cross-Cultural Aspects of Socioeconomic Development
  • XXXX: Environmental and Natural Resources Policy
  • XXXX: Policy Responses to Global Change
  • ENVS 5810 Climate, Water Resources, and Environmental Sustainability.
  • ENVS 5820 Renewable Energy Policy.
  • ECON 4535 Natural Resource Economics
  • ECON 4545 Environmental Economics
  • ECON 4585 Institutions and Markets
  • ECON 6535 Resources and the Environment
  • GEOG 4292/5292 Migration, Urbanization and Development
  • GEOG 5762 Sustainable Development: Theory and Classic Issues
  • GEOG: 5772 Sustainable development: Institutions and Policy
  • GEOG 6402 Seminar: Comparative Environmental Studies
  • GEOG 5003 Elements of GIS
  • PSCI 4012 Global Development
  • PSCI 5073 Global Political Economy
  • ENVS/SOCY 6007 Foundations of Environmental Sociology
  • SOCY 7017 Population and Environment
  • ENVS/SOCY 6017 Inequality Democracy and the Environment
  • HIST 4417 Environmental History of North America
  • HIST 4267 U.S. Mining West
  • HIST 6417 Readings in Environmental History

Faculty doing related work

  • Lee Alston (ECON)
    • environmental economics, economic history, political economy, new institutional economics
  • Liam Downey (SOCY)
    • environmental inequality, race and ethnic relations, urban sociology, stratification/inequality, political sociology, Geographic Information Systems (GIS)
  • Darna Dufour (ANTHRO)
    • biological and behavioral responses of human populations to nutritional problems and food shortages.
  • Nick Flores (ECON)
    • environmental valuation as applied to a variety of environmental issues such as wildfire, water quality, Superfund sites.
  • Terry McCabe (ANTHRO)
    • human adaptations to arid land and savanna ecosystems, with a special emphasis on nomadic pastoralism, especially in East Africa.
  • Emily Yeh (GEOG)
    • Political ecology of land use and resource conflicts in Tibetan areas of China, environmental politics of global change