JAN 314-01 - Creating a Healthy, Green, Livable World: Sustainability Transitions

Level:  300-level

Course Times:  2:45pm - 5:25pm

Course Materials Fee:  $0

Instructor(s):  Kenneth Worthy   

Email:  kaw9@stmarys-ca.edu

Major environmental crises are afflicting modern society: global warming, rising sea levels, rapid loss of species and ecosystems, toxic chemical contamination human bodies and all of nature, and others. These problems seem overwhelming and frightening. But a more environmentally and socially just, sustainable, fulfilling, and joyous world is possible. This course introduces students to the burgeoning field of sustainability transitions, which studies the changes needed to create a more livable world, and how to attain them. Such a transformation embraces environmentally friendly practices and the forms of social justice necessary to reduce conflict and allow all people the opportunity for healthier, happier lives while respecting and caring for our non-human Earth co-travelers and future generations. We will sample sustainability solutions, sustainability transitions, and ecological utopias that envision more livable worlds. We will critically assess the justice and equity aspects of these various proposals as well as the question of how to democratize change. Students will select a range of solutions to synthesize in a final paper that describes their own imaginary livable world with ideas about how to achieve it.

Prerequisites & Notes
SEM 250 or SEM 327

Credits: 3