POL 472 - Citizens, Consumers, and the Environment

In this seminar, we will be looking at different understandings of what it means to be a “consumer” and a “citizen,” in theoretical, historical and contemporary terms, and then applying those perspectives to different environmental issues and arenas. We’ll be reading an interdisciplinary range of texts from political science, philosophy, economics, and psychology that relate to these topics. Students will complete a major research paper in the class that will have a significant civic engagement component. The paper will be relevant to both the students’ interests and the interests of an organization that is trying to engage citizens and consumers on a particular environmental issue.