ENVM 527 - Sociology of the Environment

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Introduction to the idea that humans not only react to the environment but also shape it, based on the assumption that human capacity to act on the environment is more complex than that for any other living species. Focus on the capacity of humans to define the environment as something to be manipulated, guided by the constructed aims of human groups. Central concepts include human beliefs, values and institutions, social inequality in power and influence, demographic shifts and technology, political/economic organization, and globalization as an historical process in human organization.