3 credits
Fall 2026 Lecture
Political ecology centers on questions described as a research framework that pairs the strengths of political economic analysis with sociocultural and ecological approaches to environmental change. Students will explore the diverse ways of doing political ecology by drawing upon the fields of anthropology, political science, geography, and history as well as interdisciplinary environmental sciences. Students will critically examine the field through a historical exploration of its intellectual genealogy, an investigation of current research trends, and imagining possible future directions. Emphasis will be placed on both theory and methods while analyzing a variety of case studies. Permission of instructor required.
Learning Outcomes1Meet the Graduate School learning objectives of knowledge, communication, critical thinking, and ethical research through the goals listed here.
2Learn about contemporary theory in political ecology.
3Understand when and how various theoretical positions and logics of interpretation in political ecology and environmental justice have emerged.
4Review several genres of political ecological work to understand its application as a research framework in interdisciplinary environmental social sciences.
5Analyze a series of case studies that illustrate dominant positions and fissures in political ecological thought and practices, including non-western contexts.
6Gain an understanding of how to apply political ecology frameworks to your own research.
Restrictions
made by Purdue students.