Environmental Studies - Environmental Advocacy and Organizing

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Selected Course Descriptions- Environmental Advocacy and Organizing - Environmental Studies - Antioch University New England

Selected Course Descriptions

Environmental Advocacy and Organizing Program

I. Recommended Environmental Issues Courses

Patterns of Environmental Activism
Environmentalism is a very broad and diverse social movement, with many different streams and tributaries—some mainstream, some radical, some progressive, and some reactionary. In this course, students will not only explore the diversity of the last four decades of environmental thought and activism in the United States, but also the thoughts and actions of earlier advocates of preserving wildlands, protecting public health, and promoting more sustainable approaches to living on the earth. The goals of the course are to:

explore the diversity of response thoughtful people have had to the negative environmental consequences of our urban, industrial capitalist society;
develop a more critical understanding of the forces pushing for and against moving our society in the direction of greater justice, democracy, environmental protection, public health, and long-term sustainability, and
identify what each of us can contribute to the future of a renewed environmental movement as professionals, consumers, and citizens.

Corporate Power, Globalization and Democracy
The future of the world ultimately depends on how people decide to organize and conduct their economic and political lives. This course will take a critical look at conventional economic theory and public policy perspectives in an era marked by transnational corporations, “free” trade regimes, the international debt crisis, structural adjustment, and the growing dominance of neoliberalism as a political ideology. In particular, we will explore the economic and policy mechanisms that drive corporate globalization’s “race to the bottom” in working conditions, human rights, democratic participation, environmental protection, public health, and ecological sustainability. The course will also examine a range of economic and policy alternatives that might help create more just, democratic, and sustainable societies.

II. Required Program Courses

Organizing Social Movements and Campaigns
This class will look at the best strategies and tactics of progressive social movements and campaigns in the United States as well as consider case studies of movements from around the world. Attention will be given to exploring theories of social power, stages of movement mobilization, action strategies, activist roles, power-holder responses, and the mechanisms and levels of social movement success. The goal of this course will to help students see themselves as part of a long activist tradition and reflect on how best to build powerful social movements, win the active support of key sectors of the populace, and achieve campaign objectives even in the face of power-holder opposition. The course will include 20 hours of fieldwork and a group campaign strategy planning project.

Diversity and Coalition-Building
Historically, social movements have been strongest when they involve large numbers of people who unite across social barriers such as race, class, and gender for a common purpose. Social movements are weakest, however, when the prejudices and power relationships of the larger society remain unchallenged within their own organizations. This situation often leaves environmental movements vulnerable to “divide and conquer” strategies by power-holders and reduces the creativity and effectiveness of movement organizations by marginalizing the voices, insights, and potential contributions of women, people of color, working-class activists, or ethnic and religious minorities. Now, more than ever, building an environmental movement based on solid working relationships, a spirit of trust, shared interest, and solidarity across the social boundaries of race, gender, class, geography, and culture is a prerequisite for lasting democratic transformation. This class will focus on: 1) understanding the dynamics of social oppression; 2) building effective relationships across difference; and 3) addressing the challenges of creating diverse organizations and effective coalitions.

Nonprofit Leadership and Management
Just as the human body requires healthy organs to function well, a social movement requires well-run organizations. To become effective organizational leaders, people need to develop self-awareness, a healthy and balanced approach to life and work, good listening and communication skills, a keen understanding of group dynamics, and the ability to facilitate productive meetings. Organizational leaders also need to be visionaries who can manage time, money, emotions, and other people competently. This course will focus on such skills and explore how they can be combined to improve our personal effectiveness in creating growing, healthy, and successful organizations.

Advocacy Clinic I & II
This set of two hands-on, project-based, methods courses offers participants the opportunity to engage in supervised practical fieldwork on behalf of actual “clients” -- organizations at the local, state, national or international level working for environmental protection, corporate accountability, and social justice. Working in small group teams and individually, students will choose, design, conduct and evaluate advocacy projects from a wide variety of client proposals. The goal of these two methods course is to provide students with a strong supervised experiential learning opportunity in the field with more group support, attention to theory, and supervision than an individual practicum placement usually allows. The primary focus will be on developing a variety of social action and organizational development skills.

Last Updated: 4/21/08