58328 The New Economy of Post-Nature

Handbook description

Western knowledge is organised around a fundamental distinction between nature and society, with nature defined as that which is independent of humanity. With an eye on the futures arising from contemporary events, this subject introduces students to key fields of study in environmental sociology and political ecology. Engaging with globalisation from the perspective of 'environmental justice', North-South relations are examined in ecological terms. Students evaluate the oft-cited claim of an evolutionary shift from a modernity based upon fossil-fuelled industrial machinery to one defined by the 'post-industrial' production and exchange of 'information' or 'knowledge'. Students analyse the role of energy in industrial development and the contemporary political geography of fossil fuel consumption and extraction as well as climate change and the assumptions embedded in carbon trading and the notion of 'sustainable development'. They consider the emerging 'bioeconomy' and claims regarding the role of agricultural and industrial biotechnology as agents of sustainable development.