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Lecturer(s)
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Frantál Bohumil, RNDr. Ph.D.
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Course content
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Syllabus (topics): 1) Environmental sociology as a discipline within the system of sciences (historical context, drivers of the emergence of the new discipline, key intellectual inspirations, and impulses from the environmental movement). 2) Major paradigms, discourses, and concepts in environmental sociology (transformations of environmental discourse, competing paradigms, and theoretical approaches to environmental issues). 3) Social construction and media communication of environmental issues (environmental problems as claims, key processes and actors in the construction of environmental issues, mass media and the production of environmental news). 4) Environmental issues, science, and environmental ethics (scientific uncertainty and the challenge of scientifically proving environmental issues, climate alarmism and skepticism, traditional versus regulatory science). 5) Environmentally significant behavior (processes of progressive rationalization and the McDonaldization of society, sustainable consumption and pro-environmental behavior). 6) Environmental movements and organizations (history and current state of environmental movements globally and in the Czech Republic; their current state, motivations, and actions).
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Learning activities and teaching methods
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Monologic Lecture(Interpretation, Training), Dialogic Lecture (Discussion, Dialog, Brainstorming), Work with Text (with Book, Textbook), Listening
- Attendace
- 26 hours per semester
- Preparation for the Exam
- 40 hours per semester
- Homework for Teaching
- 20 hours per semester
- Semestral Work
- 34 hours per semester
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Learning outcomes
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The course aims to introduce students to the historical development of environmental sociology as a discipline, describe its relationship to human geography and other social sciences, and present the diversity of theories and concepts applied to the relationships between the physical environment, society, and social behavior. Current issues regarding the interactions between human society and nature, the processes of social construction of environmental issues, and the roles of science, politics, environmental movements, and mass media within this system will be critically discussed. Seminars will facilitate critical discussions on selected contemporary topics in environmental sociology, such as climate change, energy transition and energy justice, sustainable consumption and lifestyles, climate scepticism and activism, and others.
The student will be able to explain the historical circumstances of the emergence of environmental sociology and its place in the system of sciences, characterize the main environmental discourses and paradigms, distinguish between ecological and political-economic explanations of environmental issues; analyze the concept of environmental justice; explain the theory of risk society and ecological modernization, and apply individual theoretical approaches and concepts to current environmental issues and debates.
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Prerequisites
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Knowledge within the scope of mandatory study subjects preceding this subject in the curriculum.
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Assessment methods and criteria
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Written exam, Student performance, Seminar Work
Successful completion of the course is conditional upon meeting all the requirements listed below. Conditions for obtaining course credit: 1. Timely registration in the Moodle system; 2. Continuous study of course materials and adherence to the tutor's instructions; 3. Submission of all mandatory assignments by the deadlines set by the tutor; 4. Proper completion of all assigned tasks and, if applicable, any supplementary seminar papers; Only students who have obtained course credit are eligible to take the final written exam. Failure to meet the conditions for obtaining credit means the student cannot take the exam. The written exam consists of open-ended questions (without multiple-choice options) requiring written answers. Emphasis is placed primarily on understanding key theories, concepts and interrelationships, as well as the ability to interpret information, rather than merely reproducing factual data.
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Recommended literature
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Collins, R. Great games and keeping it cool: new political, social and cultural geographies of young people's environmental activism. Children's Geographies, 19(3), 332-338. , 2021.
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Dunlap, R. E., & Catton, W. R. Struggling with human exemptionalism: The rise, decline and revitalization of environmental sociology. The American Sociologist, 25(1), 5-30. 1994.
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Gould, K. A. and Lewis T. L. (2009). Twenty Lessons in Environmental Sociology. New York.
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Hannigan, J. A. (2023). Environmental Sociology.
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Martiskainen, M., Axon, S., Sovacool, B. K., Sareen, S., Del Rio, D. F., & Axon, K. Contextualizing climate justice activism: Knowledge, emotions, motivations, and actions among climate strikers in six cities. Global Environmental Change, 65, 102180. 2020.
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Vidomus, P. Oteplí se a bude líp: česká klimaskepse v čase globálních rizik. Praha. 2018.
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