Download my Fall 2021 Syllabus

Course Description

As the Earth’s population continues to grow rapidly and attention is increasingly drawn to the challenges of a warming planet, our relationship with our environment remains an important concern for all levels of governmental institutions: local, state, federal, and international. This course will explore the origins, growth, and evolution of the environmental movement, from early efforts at conservation through current debates surrounding climate change. We will also explore how research in political science and public policy helps us understand environmental politics. Thus, students will learn about government regulation, public opinion, agenda setting, punctuated equilibrium, formal and informal institutions, interest groups, and more. Students will also work in teams to develop their own case studies that can be used to teach about environmental policy. This course serves as a capstone seminar for Public Policy majors, thus it will draw on various courses in political science and public policy. That said, we will do so in a way that non-majors can understand.

Course Schedule

Week 1: Introduction

• August 24: Introduction to the class and each other (Slides)
• August 26: The Case Study Approach (Slides)
  • Burns, Wil. 2017. “The Case for Case Studies in Confronting Environmental Issues.” Case Studies in the Environment. pp. 1-4. 
  • Reverse Outlines: Take Apart Your Paper to Put It Back Together Right

Week 2: Policy and Science

• August 31: Theoretical Approaches to Study Public Policy (Slides)
  • Smith. Appendix A.
• September 2: Our Place in the Environment (Slides)
  • Smith. Chapter 1.
  • Reverse Outline Due

Week 3: The Environmental Movement

• September 7: History (Slides)
  • Smith. Chapter 2
  • Fears, Darryl and Steven Mufson. 2020. “Liberal, Progressive – and Racist? The Sierra Club Faces Its White Supremacist History.” The Washington Post. July 22.
• September 9: Opinion and Framing (Slides)
  • Smith. Chapter 2.
  • Policy Theories Essay Due

Week 4: Regulations and Science

• September 14: Team Workday
  • No In-Class Meeting – I’ll be on Zoom to answer questions
  • Case Study Topic Due
• September 16: The Regulatory Environment (Slides)
  • Smith. Chapter 3.
• September 19:
  • Environmental Discourse Essay Due

Week 5: Institutions

• September 21: Institutional Setting (Slides)
  • Smith. Chapter 4
• September 23: Political Setting (Slides)
  • Smith. Chapter 4.

Week 6: Politics and Air Pollution

• September 28: Air Pollution (Slides)
  • Smith. Chapter 5.
  • Regulatory Environment Essay Due
• September 30: Team Workday
  • No In-Class Meeting

Week 7: Water Policy

• October 5 Water Policy (Slides)
  • Smith. Chapter 6.
• October 7: Water Policy
  • Smith. Chapter 6.

Week 8: Energy Policy

• October 12: Energy Policy (Slides)
  • Smith. Chapter 7.
• October 14: Energy Policy (Slides)
  • Listen to: Davies, Dave. 2021. “US Faces Crossroad on Renewable Energy Future – Go Big or Go Local.” NPR. July 15.

Week 9: Toxic and Hazardous Waste

• October 19: Team Work Day
  
  • I will be on Zoom for questions
    
  • Draft Case Study Due
• October 21: Toxic and Hazardous Waste (Slides)
  
  • Smith. Chapter 8.

Week 10: Environmental Racism and Land Management

• October 26: Environmental Racism
  
  • Bullard, Robert D. 1993. “The Threat of Environmental Racism.” Natural Resources & Environment 7(3): 23-26, 55-56.
  • Berkovitz, Casey. 2020. “Environmental Racism Has Left Black Communities Especially Vulnerable to COVID-19.” The Century Foundation. May 19.
• October 28: Urban vs. Non-Urban Management
  
  • Smith. Chapter 9. 
  • Air, Water, and Energy Policy Essay Due

Week 11: International Issues

• November 2: International Issues (Slides)
  • Smith. Chapter 10. 
• November 4: International Management (Slides)
  • Smith. Chapter 11.
  • Land Management Essay Due

Week 12: Team Project Week

• November 9: Team Meeting
  • Meet as teams, I’ll be on Zoom for questions.
• November 11: Team Meeting
  • Meet as teams, I’ll be on Zoom for questions.
• International Issues and Management Essay Due

Week 13: Climate Change

• November 16: The Paris Agreement (Slides)
  • Dimitrov, Radoslav S. 2016. “The Paris Agreement on Climate Change: Behind Closed Doors.” Global Environmental Politics 16(3): 1-11. 
• November 18: States Take the Lead (Slides)
  • Bell, Andrew and Daniel J. Mallinson. 2021. “Constraints on Policy Learning: Designing the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative in Pennsylvania.” Policy Design and Practice. 
• Second Draft of Case Due

Week 14: Thanksgiving Break

• • November 23 and 25: No Class

Week 15: Final Topics

• November 30
  
  • Class Cancelled
• December 2: The Green New Deal (Slides)
  • Chatzky, Andrew and Anshu Siripurapu. 2021. “Envisioning a Green New Deal: A Global Comparison.” Council on Foreign Relations. February 1.
  • Meyer, Robinson. 2021. “The Green New Deal Does Not, Strictly Speaking, Exist.” The Atlantic. July 13.

Week 16: Presentations and Wrap Up

• December 7: Case Presentations
• December 9: Wrapping Things Up

Week 17: Finals Week

• Final Case Study Due December 16 by Midnight
• Complete group participation survey and reflection essay by Midnight on December 16