Nature and Society
Nature and Society This seminar is sociology for nature lovers. We often behave as if nature is independent of social life, but the two are profoundly interconnected. In this course we will explore this paradox through short excursions in the natural world—hikes, walks, field trips, outdoor meetings—and classroom-based learning. Drawing on practices of naturalism, social science, ecology, and philosophy, we will investigate the social construction of the natural world under capitalism. Course material will focus on studying Vermont’s ecological communities, the environmental movement, cultural geography, and natural literacy. Students will learn to “read the landscape” through the critical lens of sociology, and to challenge concepts of “natural” and “wild,” as well as “race” and “gender.” The course emphasizes an approach to writing based on observation, reflection, and evidence.
Nature and Society This seminar is sociology for nature lovers. We often behave as if nature is independent of social life, but the two are profoundly interconnected. In this course we will explore this paradox through short excursions in the natural world—hikes, walks, field trips, outdoor meetings—and classroom-based learning. Drawing on practices of naturalism, social science, ecology, and philosophy, we will investigate the social construction of the natural world under capitalism. Course material will focus on studying Vermont’s ecological communities, the environmental movement, cultural …Read more
Jamie is awesome. He is super nice with deadlines and a hilarious guy in general. The labs went by quick and we didn’t really have a lot of work to do for them so we got to enjoy fall in Vermont. Had a couple smaller to medium sized essays but I wouldn’t worry about it.
This class was super chill and fun. Every week we would join the eco/evo class labs but not have to do the write ups afterword which was great. Only three writing assignments all semester and the teacher was very nice and relaxed in class.
This class was a great first year seminar---it was interesting but super chill and fun. For the first few weeks we did field trips and joined with eco/evo lab classes. For the second half of the semester it was more lecture based. We only had 3 major assignments that are straightforward and nothing crazy. Jamie is great!