OEHS 5330 Perspectives on Environmental Justice in Film

This course will examine the interplay of race, socioeconomic status and interest group politics in the formulation and implementation of U.S. federal and state environmental policy through film (popular film and television, documentaries, etc.). We will consider the proposition that people of color and socioeconomically disadvantaged individuals bear a disproportionate burden of environmental pollution and its health consequences. We will consider the viewpoint that within the United States, as well as globally, a pattern of environmental inequity, injustice and racism exists. Key topics to be considered during the course include racism and social justice, environmental racism, pollution impacts and health effects in communities of color and rural communities, risk assessment, community responses to environmental threats, pollution in developing nations, indigenous peoples and climate change. The possible causes of patterns of injustice and community-led interventions will be examined and discussed.