ENVS 333 - Supernature

FC SSCI CD

4 credits
This course is a comparative and critical examination of how people conceptualize and relate to the environment through the lens of religion and religious practice. In this era of environmental degradation and crisis, social scientists have increasingly turned their attention to the natural sciences to help explain the impact of climate change and “the Anthropocene” on culture and society. Still, oftentimes these discussions remain highly secular, despite the on-the-ground experiences of the communities being discussed. This course will explore the origins of the framework that separates the natural from the supernatural, encouraging students to examine its sociocultural, historical, and philosophical roots. Other topics include: a global survey of interfaces between environmental and religious practices, the supernatural dimensions of human/non-human relations, Indigenous knowledges and land management practices, critiques of “New Animism” and the ontological turn, and the religious roots of capitalist extraction and environmental degradation.

Sustainability