Fostering environmental sustainability requires working with people across many social, political, and economic boundaries. Yet, "nature" or "environment" means different things to people in different societies and even subcultures within a society. In order to critically assess contemporary environmental challenges and develop feasible solutions, students in this emphasis will study environmental issues through time and from diverse perspectives.
We will examine the values, norms, and behaviors that drive different societies’ environmental impacts, as well as efforts to intervene in and change them. In so doing, students will become versed in the research methods of social sciences and humanities and gain critical environmental communication skills.
Institute for the Study of the Environment, Sustainability and Energy 325 Montgomery Hall DeKalb, IL 60115 Phone: 815-753-6563 Fax: 815-753-2902 Email: envs@niu.edu