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Environmental Sociology

By Dr. Arup Kumar Mitra   |   St. Xavier's College (Autonomous), Kolkata
Learners enrolled: 268
Environmental sociology has emerged as a significant field due to the growing recognition of environmental issues and their social implications. The course covers various aspects of environmental sociology, including contemporary issues, politics, laws, and public policy, while exploring different theoretical frameworks like ecological modernization and ecofeminism. It also examines the sociological impacts of ecological movements, providing students with a comprehensive understanding of the subject. By studying this course, students will gain in-depth knowledge and develop a sense of responsibility as active participants in addressing environmental challenges.

To make the course more engaging, some key issues were discussed through films.

Course coordinator:
Dr. Arup Kumar Mitra
Associate Professor
HOD, Depart. of Environmental Studies
St. Xavier's College (Autonomous), Kolkata

Producer: Moasunep Kichu

Summary
Course Status : Upcoming
Course Type : Elective
Language for course content : English
Duration : 15 weeks
Category :
  • Sociology
Credit Points : 5
Level : Undergraduate
Start Date : 13 Jan 2025
End Date : 30 Apr 2025
Enrollment Ends : 28 Feb 2025
Exam Date : 25 May 2025 IST
NCrF Level   : 5.5
Exam Shift :

II

Note: This exam date is subject to change based on seat availability. You can check final exam date on your hall ticket.


Page Visits



Course layout

Week 1
Module 1. The Definition of Environmental Sociology
Module 2. Salient Features of Environmental Sociology
Module 3. Debates and Discourses

Week 2
Module 4. Environmental Sociology Through Western Perspectives
Module 5. The Sociology of Environment from the Indian Perspectives with Special Emphasis on Indian Philosophy
Module 6. Situating ES in the 21st Century- An Exposure to the National and International Laws for protecting the Mother Earth

Week 3
Module 7. Defining ES through the lenses of International Politics – Case Studies based on UN, WWF, IUCN
Module 8. Qualitative Approach towards ES – A Brief Introduction
Module 9. Situating ES in Regional Literature – ‘Arannyak’ by Bibhutibhusan Bandopadhyay

Week 4
Module 10. Encompassing World Literature in the Societal Approach towards Environment: Decoding William Blake and John Milton 
Module 11. Music and Environment: The Songs of Tagore
Module 12. Feminist Environmentalism – The Origin and Development

Week 5
Module 13. Understanding Ecofeminism- The Thoughts and Practices; A Critical Retrospection of the Writings of Vandana Shiva
Module 14. Gandhi, Tagore and Environment: Discourses on Political Ecology
Module 15. An Utilitarian Approach towards ES: A Case Study Based on Sriniketan Project by Rathindranath Tagore, son of Rabindranath Tagore
Module 16. Ecological Modernization: An Orientation based on Theoretical Perceptions

Week 6
Module 17. Ecological Modernization in Practice:  The Story of Nature Mates Nature Club, the NGO
Module 18. Quantitative Approach towards ES – A Brief Introduction
Module 19. Treadmill of Production
Module 20. Risk

Week 7
Module 21. Policy Analysis
Module 22. Environmental Awareness in Ancient Times
Module 23. The Medieval Period
Module 24. History Of Environment In India: The Colonial Period

Week 8
Module 25. The Post-Colonial Period
Module 26. The Bhopal Gas Tragedy of 1984
Module 27. The Flood at Kedarnath, Uttarakhand, 2013
Module 28 Chernobyl 1986

Week 9
Module 29: Migration due to climate change (Indian perspective)
Module 30:  Migration due to climate change(Global perspective)
Module 31: Plastic pollution management
Module 32. Plastic waste upcycling 

Week 10
Module 33. Microbiological approach to a plastic free world-
Module 34. Forest Based Movement
Module 35. Sewage utilization for afforestation
Module 36. Social forestry to check desertification 

Week 11
Module 37. Land Based Movement
Module 38. Water Based Movement
Module 39: Movements against industry
Module 40: Movement against urbanization

Week 12
Module 41. Human encroachment to wild: Is it cause of pandemic?
Module 42: Movement against chemical fertilizer Act
Module 43: Emergence of Organic state in India (Story of Sikkim)
Module 44. Erin Brockovich (2000)

Week 13
Module 45. An Inconvenient Truth (Documentary, 2006)
Module 46. RiverBlue (Canada, 2017)
Module 47. Avatar (2009)
Module 48. Eco friendly Gangasagar Mela: A Case Study

Week 14
Module 49. “ Minamata : The victims and their world” (1971)
Module 50 “ The 11th Hour”(2007)
Module 51. Greta Thunberg
Module 52. Jane Goodall

Week 15
Module 53. David Orr
Module 54. Hans Cosmos Ngoteya
Module 55. Jadav Payeng (the Forest Man of India)
Module 56.  Rajendra Singh(Waterman of India)

Books and references

1. Guha, R., & Alier, J. M. (1998). The environmentalism of the poor. In Varieties of environmentalism: Essays North and South. New Delhi: Oxford University Press.
2. Osofsky, H. M. (2003). Defining Sustainable Development after Earth Summit 2002. Loy. LA Int'l & Comp. L. Rev., 26, 111.
3. Baviskar, A. (1999). In the Belly of the River: Tribal Conflicts over Development in the Narmada Valley. Oxford University Press.
4. Bell, MM. (2008). An Invitation to Environmental Sociology. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage 3rd ed. 
5. Hannigan, J. A. (1995). Environmental Sociology. Routledge, London and New York, 2nd ed. 
6. Gould, K. A., Pellow, D. N., & Schnaiberg, A. (2004). Interrogating the Treadmill of Production: Everything You Wanted to Know about the Treadmill but Were Afraid to Ask. Organization & Environment.
7. Wright, E. O. (2004). Interrogating the Treadmill of Production: Some Questions I Still Want to Know about and Am Not Afraid to Ask. Organization & Environment.
8. Guha, R. Chipko : Social history of an environmental movement. In
Ghanshyam Shah ed.(2002). Social Movements and the State (Vol. 4). Sage Publications Pvt. Ltd. 
9. Khagram, S., Riker, J. V., & Sikkink, K. (2002).Restructuring the global politics of development: The Case of India’s Narmada Valley Dams. Restructuring World Politics: Transnational Social Movements, Networks, and Norms (Vol. 14). U of Minnesota Press. 

Instructor bio

Dr. Arup Kumar Mitra

St. Xavier's College (Autonomous), Kolkata
Dr. Arup Kumar Mitra has a teaching experience of 28 years teaching Microbiology, Botany and Environmental Science. He is an associate Professor and founder Head of the P.G. Department of Microbiology, St. Xavier’s College, Kolkata. He is a Ph.D in Botany from Calcutta University. Recipient of National Merit Scholarship from Govt. of India. He has post -doctoral research experience from South Bank University, London. He is a Fellow of Indian Botanical Society and the International Society for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources. He has more than 30 books in Biological Science, Environmental Science and Microbiology and has published around 113 papers in referred National and International Journals. He has completed five research projects sponsored by UGC, DST. Five students are presently working under him for their Ph.D degrees in the P.G .Department of Microbiology. He has been a resource person in different National and International seminars in India and abroad. He has been the co-ordinator in the UGC sponsored programme for developing e-resources in Microbiology.

Course certificate

30% for in Course Assessment & 70% of end-term Proctored Exam.
Securing 40% in both separately is mandatory to pass the course and get the certificate.



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