This course is designed to provide students with an opportunity to work closely with Gender and Women's Studies faculty, investigating a topic of mutual interest in great depth. Emphasis in on student discussion and collaboration. Topics will vary from semester to semester. Number of units will vary depending on specific course, format, and requirements.

There can be little doubt at this moment in human history that the planet is in crisis. The advances of the “Green Revolution,” the boom in population growth, advances in communication and biotechnologies combined with deepening patterns of overconsumption in the developed world threaten the survival of human life on Earth. While there is a growing body of literature that addresses this ecological crisis little of it meaningfully addresses how social processes of white supremacy, patriarchy, free market capitalism, and technological fundamentalisms have engendered this crisis. In this course, we will bring feminist, queer, and critical race theory into conversation with the debate on global economic and environmental collapse and consider how these theoretical frameworks might enable a more expansive and transformative vision for planetary justice and necessitate more equitable global arrangements of power. Students will examine the theoretical concepts that feminist scholars across disciplines have developed to analyze a range of ethical challenges in the study of the environment including the invention of nature, the formation of the idealized notions of the human, the relationship between human and non-human animals, reproduction, and the age give capacities of “things” like bacteria, chemicals, and trees in environmental politics. The course readings will draw from popular science literature, speculative fiction, ethnographic/historical texts, and documentary films. This is a seminar-based course that requires active participation, critical thinking, and a personal investment in the work.

Repeat Rules