1

GGR338 Environmental Problems

in Developing Countries

Course Instructor: James Nugent Class: Mondays 3-5pm Room: SS 1071 (weeks 1 & 2), OISE 2-212 (week 3-12) Office Hour: Mondays 5:15-6:15pm, Room SS5009 (no appointment necessary) Email: james.nugent@utoronto.ca Why are environmental problems—such as air pollution, water contamination, deforestation, unhealthy working conditions, war, just to name a few—so characteristic of countries in the Global South? Why are the negative everyday impacts of these problems so unevenly distributed both across and within countries (i.e. experienced foremost by the poor, women, Indigenous peoples, those with disabilities, and marginalized ethno-racial groups)? And why do these problems persist despite there being no shortage of techno-managerial “solutions” being proposed? We investigate these questions in this course through a political ecology and critical development studies lens. We call into question theories popularly used to explain environmental problems in developing countries (e.g. population growth, “backwardness,” etc.). Instead, we will explore how environmental problems in developing countries (including the very concept of “the environment”)—are produced through: histories of colonialism and imperialism; the expansion of capitalist social relations, markets, commodification, and values; patriarchy; and a range of

2

“development” or “modernization” interventions by states, supra-national organizations, and non-governmental actors. We will challenge our own pre-existing conceptions of “the environment,” “development,” and “the poor,” so that we can understand these concepts in relational, historical, socio-cultural, and geographical terms. We will come to understand how the ability to frame “the environment” and “development” as problems, is an act of power that legitimizes particular “solutions” (i.e. which simply reproduces prevailing social relations and the misallocation of environmental costs and benefits). Learning Objective The overarching learning objective of the course is for you to identify and challenge your personal relationship to “environmental problems in developing countries.” I will ask you to think about how are you implicated or engaged in these problems across multiple scales due to your positionality as a Canadian, or international student, Toronto/Ontario resident, migrant, Indigenous person, consumer, producer, voter, artist, etc. Asked differently: how do you and others benefit from environmental problems in developing countries? Do we have a responsibility to try to solve these problems? If so, what possibilities exist to work in alliances with those in developing countries most harmed by these environmental problems? Learning Outcomes Through your individual reading and writing assignments, participation in classroom discussion, and group work, I expect you will have five learning outcomes:

1. To be able to critically reflect on how your everyday life is bound up in multi-scalar socio-ecological processes of privilege, oppression, and political possibilities.

2. To use social theory to ask more critical questions during group discussions and for written assignments.

3. To become an “active reader” (and film reviewer) who can ask critical questions while you read (or watch a film). For example, become better at identifying and weighing an author's claims against the evidence they provide, and relate your insights to broader courses themes, classroom discussion, and other areas of your life. Or to question the narration “voice” used by a documentary filmmaker.

4. To improve your ability to listen to your colleagues, and to accept as well as offer constructive criticism while working as part of a group.

5. To become more confident facilitating, or participating in, oral discussions. Required Textbook

Robbins, Paul. 2012. Political Ecology: A Critical Introduction. Second Edition. Wiley-Blackwell: Chichester, West Sussex. (Available at the UofT Bookstore)

3

Week 1 | “Canadian Values” Home and Abroad

Monday September 12th Classroom: Sid Smith 1071

Bruce Campion-Smith. 2016. Canadians favour screening would-be immigrants for ‘anti-Canadian’ values, poll shows. The Toronto Star. September 10th. http://www.thestar.com/news/canada/2016/09/10/canadians-favour-screening-immigrant-values-poll-shows.html

Week 2 | Environmental Problems in Developing Countries: Overview

Monday September 19th Classroom: Sid Smith 1071

Hardoy, J.E. & Satterthwaite, D. 1991. Environmental problems of Third World cities: a global issue ignored? Public Administration and Development 11:342-361 Husssen, Ahmen. 2013. “Part V: Environmental sustainability in developing countries.” In, Hussen, A., Principles of environmental economics and sustainability: An integrated economic and ecological approach. p.359-391. *United Nations Environment Programme. 2014. UNEP Year Book 2014: Emerging issues in our global environment. http://www.unep.org/yearbook/2014/ *Will be distributed for reading during class

Week 3 | Imperialism, Colonialism, and the making of “the environment”

Monday September 26th *New Classroom: OISE 2-212*

Grove, Richard. 1992. Origins of Western Environmentalism. Scientific American. 267(1):42-47. (Available on Blackboard) Power, M. (2003) “Development thinking and mystical kingdom of abundance,” Rethinking Development Geographies, London: Routledge, pp. 71-94. *(Supplementary Reading) Escobar, A. 1995. “Sustainable Development: The Death of nature and the rise of environment.” In, Encountering Development: The making and unmaking of the third world. Princeton, pp. 192-199. (Available on Blackboard) Textbook, Box 5.2 p.115, Box.6.2 p.139

4

Week 4 | Manufactured Landscapes: Consumption as Violence

Monday October 3rd Classroom: OISE 2-212

Rees, William E. & Westra, Laura. 2003. When consumption does violence: Can there be sustainability and environmental justice in a resource-limited world? In, Julian Agyeman, Robert D. Bullard, and Bob Evans. (Eds). Just sustainabilities: Development in an unequal world. MIT Press: Cambridge. pp. 99-124. (Available on Blackboard) Textbook, Chapter 1

October 10th | No Classes (Holiday) Week 5 | The Critical Tools of Political Ecology

Monday October 17th *Mid-term Test*

Textbook, Chapters 2 (pp.25-28 only), 3 & 4 Week 6 | Resisting Multinational Mining and Tourism Projects

Guest Lecture: Lazar Konforti

Monday October 24th Textbook, Chapters 8 & 10

Week 7 | The Right to Shit

Monday October 31st

McFarlane, C., Desai, R., Graham, S. 2011. Everyday Sanitation: A comparative study of Mumbai's informal settlements. Durham University. https://www.dur.ac.uk/geography/everyday_sanitation/

Galvin, Mary. 2015. Talking shit: is Community-Led Total Sanitation a radical and revolutionary approach to sanitation? WIREs Water. 2:9–20.

Monday November 7th | No classes (Reading Week)

5

Week 8 | The Political Ecology of Climate Change Monday November 14th

Bachram, Heidi. 2004. Climate fraud and carbon colonialism: the new trade in greenhouse gases. Capitalism Nature Socialism. 15(4):5-20.

Bohm, S., Misoczky, M.C., Moog, S. 2012. Greening Capitalism? A Marxist Critique of Carbon Markets. Organization Studies. 33(11): 1617-1638.

Week 9 | War on Earth, Ships to Mars

Monday November 21st

William Bryant and C. S. Lewis. 1995. The Re-Vision of Planet Earth: Space Flight and Environmentalism in Postmodern America. American Studies. 36(2)Fall. pp. 43-63 http://www.jstor.org.myaccess.library.utoronto.ca/stable/40642725 Karl Mathiesen. 2014. What's the environmental impact of modern war? The Guardian. November 6th. https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2014/nov/06/whats-the-environmental-impact-of-modern-war Arsenault, Chris. 2006. Collateral Damage: Canada's Vietnam. THIS Magazine. March-April. https://www.hatfieldgroup.com/wp-content/uploads/AgentOrangeNewsCoverage/This_Collateral.pdf

Ron Garan. c.2013. Why Spend Money on Space Exploration When We Have So Many Problems Here on Earth? https://unreasonable.is/why-spend-money-on-space-exploration-when-we-have-so-many-problems-here-on-earth/

Week 10 | Group-led Facilitation

Monday November 28th Textbook, Chapter 11

Week 11 | Group-led Facilitation

Monday December 5th Textbook, Chapter 12

Week 12 | Group-led Facilitation & Course Wrap-Up

*Wednesday December 7th*

(“Make-up Monday” Class)

6

Grades 13% Mid-term Test (In class October 17th) 22% Weekly Reading notes, preparation for classroom discussion (10 x 2.2%) 35% Group project

(13.5%) Weekly Group Meetings Attendance (9 x 1.5%) (6.5%) Mid-term Group Report (15%) Final Group Facilitation/Presentation

30% Final Exam Late Assignments

Reading notes are to be submitted at the very beginning of class (before 3:10pm). Late submissions will not be accepted without proper medical documentation (http://www.illnessverification.utoronto.ca), or for non-medical emergencies, please submit a letter from your college registrar. Be aware that submitting a note that has been altered or obtained under false pretenses is considered a very serious offence by the University.

Expectations:

Please read my teaching philosophy statement that is posted on Blackboard. I expect that you will come to class prepared to discuss the readings and to participate in class activities. I prefer a back-and-forth, participatory learning environment. I know that this can be terrifying for more introverted students, but I hope that as the course progresses, everyone will feel comfortable contributing to classroom discussion. I try to reduce the anxiety of speaking in class by having you work in pairs or small groups before presenting to the class. The onus is on the entire class to create a space where everyone can feel comfortable voicing their ideas.

I will also be giving you questions to help guide your readings. If you find talking in public terrifying, the best thing you can do is come to class having completed your reading/class preparation notes. Remember, that I am not evaluating your language skills or oratory showmanship in class; rather, I am most concerned with the substance of your ideas and arguments. Similarly, if you really enjoy talking in class, keep in mind

7

how much space you’re taking up so that others can have a chance to contribute.

My goal in this course is that you actually learn. This may seem obvious, but it is amazing how easy it is to go through school, even doing well on exams, without actually learning. It will not be enough to simply memorize lecture slides, since learning is a process of critical engagement with the course material, other learners, and society more broadly. It is not enough to simply learn “facts.” I want you to be able to use the “critical tools” (social theory) to ask critical questions.

Please note that we will not be grading you on what your opinion is, but rather how well your support your opinion with arguments and evidence.

We will use an iterative learning process as a way for you to develop your critical thinking, writing, and speaking. You will engage at least three or four times with the readings. First, you will read the readings before lecture, identifying key concepts and questions. Second, we may discuss the reading in lecture or classroom discussions. Third, you use the readings to help inform your group project. Fourth, the final exam will draw directly on the readings. It should therefore become obvious to you that doing the readings will really help you to learn and do well in this course!

Blackboard

It is your responsibility to check Blackboard frequently (once or twice a week). You MUST have a your.name@mail.utoronto.ca (or @utoronto.ca) email address indicated on ROSI to properly receive messages from the instructors through Blackboard. You can access the Blackboard site here: https://portal.utoronto.ca/webapps/portal/frameset.jsp

Writing and Plagiarism

The University of Toronto is committed to the principles of academic integrity. Please review the University's Code of Behaviour on Academic Matters.

There are many tools to help you improve your writing. Please make an appointment with your college's writing centre and check out the following website:www.utoronto.ca/writing. Plagiarism is an extremely serious academic offence and we will be taking measures to identify plagiarized assignments. It is your responsibility to understand what plagiarism is, and how to avoid it. Please see: http://www.writing.utoronto.ca/advice/using-sources/how-not-to-plagiarize

8

Accessibility Needs

The University of Toronto is committed to accessibility. If you require accommodations for a disability, or have any accessibility concerns about the course, the classroom or course materials, please contact Accessibility Services as soon as possible: disability.services@utoronto.ca or http://studentlife.utoronto.ca/accessibility

Grading

For grading regulations and other rights and responsibilities, consult the course calendar: http://www.artsandscience.utoronto.ca/ofr/calendar/rules.htm

Last Updated: September 12, 2016