Course Description


MIT 4103F-001 (Fall 2019)   Special Topics in MIT: Media and Environmental Justice

Course Description
This course examines the concept of media and environmental justice through a Canadian context, through frequent film and video screenings, through case studies, and through practice-based research and findings. We begin by exploring attempts to define ‘environmental justice,’ a concept which emerged in the United States in the 1980s, and then we’ll spend the rest of the semester reading and discussing examples of environmental injustice in Canada, for the government has yet to adopt legislation that recognizes the right to a healthy environment. Through selected case studies, we examine a number of topics and questions. Some of these include: the advantages and drawbacks of current systems of production and consumption, the question of who bears the burdens and who enjoys the benefits of our current environmental and social system and what kinds of alternatives are available. Why do some have access to a clean and safe environment, and not others? Who decides and why? Throughout, we will examine how gender, class, and race impact the production and experience of environmental injustice, and highlight the ways that communities, social movements, and citizens organize to combat these threats.

This course is no longer active. Please contact FIMS Undergraduate Student Services, fims@uwo.ca, for more information.




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