For a quick overview of the course nature work is how you make sense out of the environment and the relations between objects, meanings, and places. We are currently in a risk society as resources on this earth are finite and the capitalist nature of the powerful tends to think of much of the environmental as an externality. These corporations own and transmit knowledge in a framework that benefits their needs and leads much of society to believe in environmental activism quests away from their damaging effect on the environment. In this fast pace society we depend on technology to solve all problems and I am worried that as we continue to advance in this direction we will cause our own demise. This course has contributed a great deal to my learning as it is an aspect of sociology not previously touched in any of our classes. By integrating movies, lectures, and different viewpoints on global issues I was able to advance my knowledge about so many environmental and social issues around the world. I never knew of the Global South or the process of meat productions before my entrance and will not soon forget it. Our in depth look into the lives of people of the ninth ward truly opened my eyes to environmental racism and the externalities of the government for future profit. As I look over the information studied and learned most is fresh and innovative information for even a university setting. When considering any situation in the future I will now be more likely to step back and consider the frame of context and who is responsible for the dissemination of these environmental issues. While our limited class of 17 is able to now understand the environmental impact of social interactions around the world I can only hope this is the beginning of this integration into other subjects that could make a difference such as business and other social sciences.
The War for resources: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nZMwKPmsbWE
