POL 3550 Politics of the Environment

Preserving and improving the natural environment is one of the most critical public policy issues of the twenty-first century. Like all political questions, it is bound up with ideology and power, but it also involves difficult moral and ethical issues, philosophical and economic belief systems and technical and scientific “facts” and their interpretation. this interdisciplinary course provides an overview of the origins and evolution of environmentalism as a philosophical paradigm that is reshaping politics and public policy. The course surveys the history of the environmental decision making both nationally and globally, focusing on specific policy areas through case studies and simulations. Prerequisite(s): POL 1100 OR POL 1200
Credits: 3.0