Environmental Justice and Policy

minor

The Environmental Justice and Policy minor offers an interdisciplinary framework for examining how disparities of class, race, gender, and organizational capacity interact with access to a safe and healthy environment.

About this Program

  • College: Liberal Arts and Sciences
  • Credits: 15 | Completed with minimum grades of C and no optional S/U | 9 must be at the 3000-level or above

Department Information

The Department of Sociology and Criminology & Law has over 1,000 undergraduate majors and 100 graduate students. The department’s faculty are internationally known for their research in the areas of families, gender, and sexualities; health, aging, and the life course; environmental and resource sociology; race and ethnicity; criminology and criminal justice; and psychology and law.
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CONTACT

Criminology Email Sociology Email

352.294.7164 (tel) | 352.392.6568 (fax)

P.O. Box 117330
3219 TURLINGTON HALL
GAINESVILLE FL 32611-7330
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 Curriculum

Sociology offers broad theoretical perspectives and rigorous methodologies to analyze how and why such inequalities are produced and maintained locally, nationally, and globally. Students pursuing an EJP minor explore the impact of environmental hazards on the health and economic opportunities of vulnerable and marginalized populations; the mechanisms by which environmental conflicts are managed at the local, state, national and global levels; the real-world implications of issues such as climate change, food security, public health and hazard exposure; the spatial dimensions of environmental inequalities and how they are experienced; the strategies and tactics of social movement organizations seeking environmental justice; and how environmental justice is addressed in public policies. The EJP minor introduces students to environmental scholars across the campus community, expanding networking and mentoring opportunities, exposing students to diverse ideas, methods, and theories in the area of environmental justice, and teaching fundamental skills and competencies for careers related to policy making and research in the environmental sphere.

Students should listen to these interviews on the department’s website from three recent sociology graduates. Their testimonials describe the varied opportunities in the program and the different career and professional paths they and other sociology students embark on post-graduation.
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REQUIREMENTS

  • Students must complete a minimum of nine credits of coursework exclusive to the minor that cannot count toward their major(s) or other minors or certificates.
  • Students must complete at least three courses at the 3000-level or higher and each must be at least three credits.
  • A minimum of 9 credits must be from Sociology courses (i.e., courses with the prefix SY). 
  • Minimum 3 credits from Category A courses focusing on Theories of Social Inequality, Difference and Power.
  • Minimum 3 credits from Category B courses focusing on Issues of Environmental Justice, Research and Policy. 
  • At least one course from Category A or Category B must be Sociology (SY).
  • With the approval of the undergraduate coordinator for Sociology, students may petition to have other, relevant classes approved as substitutes within each category of electives within the minor. Such courses could include department special topics offerings with numbers like 3930 or 4930.
  • No more than three credits of independent study (SYA 4905), research (SYA 4911) or internship (SYA 4941) may count toward the minor.
  • All courses must be completed with minimum C grades.
  • The EJP minor is not available to Sociology majors.

REQUIRED COURSES

SYG 2010Social Problems3
Select one:3
Special Study (Environmental Change and Justice )
Special Study (Environmental Racism )
Special Study (Environmental Sociology)
Category A elective3
Category B elective3
Additional SY elective from Category A or Category B 13
Total Credits15
1

3 credits of SYA 4905 or SYA 4911 or SYA 4941 may apply to this category as approved by the Sociology undergraduate coordinator.


Category A | Theories of Social Inequality, Difference, and Power

Select at least one 3 credit course

SYD 3395Sociology of Globalization3
SYD 3700Sociology of Race and Racism in the US3
SYD 3410Urban Sociology3
SYA 4930Special Study (Environmental Inequality)3
SYA 4930Special Study (Environmental Racism; if not already taken as required course)3
SYA 4930Special Study (Environmental Sociology; if not already taken as required course)3
SYA 4930Special Study (Race and Ethnic Relations)3
SYA 4930Special Study (Social Movements)3
SYA 4930Special Study (Social Movements & the Internet)3
SYD 4020Population3
SYO 4530Social Inequality3
SYO 3534Poverty3
SYP 3000Society and the Individual3
AFS 3300Poverty and Development in Africa3
AEB 3450Introduction to Natural Resource and Environmental Economics3
AMH 2631History of Sustainability3
AMH 3630American Environmental History3
ANT 2402Anthropology of Sustainability3
AFS 4340Community Conservation and Rural Development in Africa3
EVR 2001Introduction to Environmental Science3
FYC 3521Community Food Systems3
GEO 2410Social Geography3
GLY 2038Sustainability and the Changing Earth3
INR 4035Rich and Poor Nations in the International System3
POT 3503Environmental Ethics and Politics3
REL 2071Sustainability and Religion3
REL 2104Environmental Ethics3
REL 3082Global Ethics3
URP 4740Housing and Urban Development3

Category B | Issues of Environmental Justice, Research and Policy

Select at least one 3 credit course

SYA 4930Special Study (Conservation Criminology)3
SYA 4930Special Study (Crime and the Environment)3
SYA 4930Special Study (Environmental Change and Justice; if not already taken as required course)3
SYD 4021US Population Issues3
SYO 4403Sociol Envnmt Hlth3
AEB 4282International Humanitarian Assistance3
AEB 4283International Development Policy3
AEB 4123Agricultural and Natural Resource Law3
AEB 4126Agricultural and Natural Resource Ethics3
AFS 4315Critical Issues in Contemporary Africa3
AFS 4345Political Economy of Conservation in Africa3
ALS 3133Agricultural and Environmental Quality3
ALS 2410Challenge 2050: Global Uncertainty3
ALS 3030CUrban Agriculture3
ALS 3415Challenge 2050: Developing Tools for Changing the World3
ALS 3940Challenge 2050: the Experience3
ALS 4419Challenge 2050: Creating Solutions1
ALS 4950Challenge 2050: Taking Action2-6
AGG 3501Environment, Food and Society3
ANT 4403Environment and Cultural Behavior3
ARC 1000Architecture and Humanity3
BCN 1582International Sustainable Development3
ECO 2310Economics of Sustainability3
ECP 3302Environmental Economics and Resource Policy4
FYC 4408Organizational Leadership for Nonprofits3
FYC 4409Working with Nonprofit Organizations in Community Settings3
FYC 4427Non-Governmental Organizations3
CPO 4793Environmental Politics in the Global South3
GEO 2006Natural Hazards Geography3
GEO 2500Global and Regional Economies3
GEO 4034Weather, Climate, and Society3
GLY 2110Climate Change Science and Solutions3
GLY 3163Geology American National Parks3
GLY 3882CHydrogeology and Human Affairs3
HSC 3201Community and Environmental Health3
PHC 3440Global Public Health3
HIS 3610History and Public Policy3
WOH 3404Global History of Energy3
HOS 3285The Organic Debate: Organic Agriculture Development & Regulations1
PHI 3641Ethics and Innovation3
PHM 3032Ethics and Ecology3
DCP 3210Sustainable Solutions for the Built Environment3
DCP 3220Social and Cultural Sustainability and the Built Environment3
DCP 4941Practicum in Sustainability and the Built Environment6
DCP 4942Field Experience in Sustainability and the Built Environment1-6
INR 4350International Environmental Relations3
POS 2032Politics of Sustainability3
PUP 4224Florida Environmental Politics3
PSY 3626Psychology of Sustainability3
SWS 2007The World of Water3
SWS 2008Land and Life3
SWS 4245Water Resource Sustainability3
SWS 4204Urban Soil and Water Systems3
DCP 3220Social and Cultural Sustainability and the Built Environment3
WST 3371Women, Leadership & Diversity in the Global Environment3
WIS 2040Wildlife Issues in a Changing World3
WIS 2552Biodiversity Conservation: Global Perspectives3
WIS 3434Tropical Wildlife3
WIS 4427CWildlife Habitat Management3
URP 3001Cities of the World3
URP 4000Preview of Urban and Regional Planning3
URP 4882Defensible Space and CPTED in Urban Design3
URP 4640Sustainable Urbanism in Europe3