WGSST/ENR 3530
Women, Environment and Development
Autumn 2014 … Scott Lab. E0105 … W/F 2:20-3:40 pm
Dr. Cathy A. Rakowski
292-6447 (office) rakowski.1@osu.edu The best way to reach me is through email
414C Kottman, Office hours T 4-5 or by appointment
Course Description
This course provides an introduction to the interdisciplinary study of women’s roles in sustainable development
and as environmental stewards, farmers, and activists, among others. The course brings together theories of
women, environment, and development with attention to the role of gender in policy making as illustrated through
case studies. Case studies examine women’s and men’s agency and struggles as well as the growing importance
of gender differences for specific issues such as forest conservation, climate change mitigation and adaptation,
sustainable agricultural production, disaster recovery, toxic waste movements, resistance to construction of dams
and the privatization of water, etc.
This is the first course ever to be offered jointly by both Environment and Natural Resources and Women’s,
Gender and Sexuality Studies.
Objectives: When students complete the course, they should have a basic understanding of:
- The importance of “gender” as a variable for promoting sustainable development and environmental
stewardship
- Why women have been leaders of some groundbreaking movements
- Why environmental issues have been “women’s” issues
- The relative strengths and shortcomings of the theoretical approaches known as “ecofeminism” and
“feminist political ecology”
- Diverse approaches to gendering development policies, projects, and programs that have influenced major
international policies on agriculture and environmental sustainability
Grading and Requirements
- participate actively in discussions, “HW comments,” special assignments - 25%
- 3 exams = 60%
Midterm 1, in class – 20%
Midterm 2, in class – 20%
Final exam, take home – 20%
- final short paper/essay on a topic of your choice – 15%
Readings and Other Course Materials
We will use book chapters, journal articles, policy reports, news items, and video materials. Some items will be
posted to our Carmen “content” page. Others can be downloaded through the Library’s online journal service and
still others can be accessed through online web addresses that I will provide. Some videos will be shown in class
while others can be viewed through Vimeo or Youtube or another online source. I also will post reports and
materials used in development programs that may interest some of you.
There is one book assigned and an electronic version is posted to our Carmen “content” page (with the permission
of its owners): Gita Sen and Caren Grown. Development, Crises, and Alternative Visions: Third World Women’s
Perspectives. Monthly Review Press, 1987. It presents a Third World approach to development that critiques
capitalist economic rationales and their outcomes and emphasizes environmental sustainability and social justice
as pre-requisites to genuine development.
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Participation
You start out with an A. It is up to you to keep it. Participation includes attendance, in-class workshops
and discussions, and homework assignments.
I reserve the right to call on students randomly to facilitate fairness in participation opportunities for class
discussion. We also will break down into small groups now and then for discussion.
A seating chart will be prepared to help identify students and to record participation and attendance.
Participation and assignments are 25% of your grade. Don’t waste it!
Homework Assignments
Each student should plan on submitting a total of 5 “homework assignments” (HW on syllabus). There
are 8 HW options spread out over the semester and you can choose 4 from 7 of the options (HW 1 is mandatory
for everyone). Two should be handed in before Midterm exam 1, 2 are due before Midterm exam 2, and the final
one is due before the last day of class. They are designed to help you prepare for class discussion and engage with
course materials. You hand them in at the end of the assigned class and I will provide feedback. They will be
marked U, S-, S, S+ to let you know how you are doing. They count toward your participation grade.
Each assignment should consist of a statement of about 200-300 words (printed, not hand written) for the
designated topic. Doing 5 out of 8 options provides you with considerable freedom for preparing yourself for
class discussion and budgeting your time. Note: each assignment should be handed in on the day for which it was
assigned. Do not send by email.
Special Assignments
Weeks 8 and 13 there will be “special assignments” that involve students doing research on assigned
gender and environment issues and reporting on them in class. Further instructions will be discussed in class once
our semester gets underway. Your participation in special assignments can be important to your participation
grade—and they are meant to be fun too!
“Want to read more?” The readings under this heading are there for students who really do want to explore the
topic more and for whom the subject matter is of broader interest. There is NO requirement that you read any of
them or view any recommended videos; they will not be covered on exams. However, I may refer to some of
these materials during class discussion.
Exams: There will be two in-class midterm exams (Sept 26 & Oct 24) and a final exam (take home exam due on
Dec 13). Midterm questions will be short answer, short essay, and 1 longer essay. You will receive a study guide
the week before each midterm exam; the final exam will be delivered to you the last week of class. The final will
be all essay (some short, others a bit longer) and will be more comprehensive in the sense that you may be asked
to use some foundational ideas (theories, concepts) introduced early in the course and apply them to your
discussion of cases that we covered in the final third of the course. We will discuss this beforehand and are likely
to “practice” doing this during our in-class discussions.
Final paper
The final paper/essay should be about 1200 words. Give your essay a title that fits its focus and make
your objective or argument clear in the opening paragraph. Give the word count (excluding references) at the end
of the paper. Choose a topic of your choice that is related to the course’s subject matter but use resources NOT
used already in class. Grading is based on clarity, logic, strength of arguments and analysis, and relevance of the
essay to the course subject matter. Since students’ majors vary, so will style of writing and interests and I will
take this into account in the interest of fairness. It helps if your paper is interesting and thought provoking and
“flows” from beginning to end! Write in a style relevant to your major and use consistent formatting for reference
materials. You need not list the entire reference for course materials that you use--just put author name and part of
the title. Be sure to cite page numbers whenever you are discussing an idea from your sources. Correct grammar
and spelling are a must! It is due the last day of class.
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Policies
All deadlines should be met and no late papers will be accepted unless you and I have agreed on this beforehand.
If an emergency comes up, please notify me immediately.
In principle, there will be no makeup exams and no early exams. However, life happens. If you have a verifiable
emergency or urgent matter, a make-up exam will be administered at the instructor’s convenience and questions
will not be the same as the original exam. Be sure to notify me or have someone else notify me of any emergency
that may come up.
Any plagiarism on written assignments will result in referral to the proper university authorities--no exceptions.
The university’s policy is to give an F for the course if plagiarism is proven on even just one assignment.
Any student who has special needs should let me know and may wish to seek the
assistance of Disability Services at 150 Pomerene Hall. I will work with Disability
Services to meet your needs.
COURSE SCHEDULE
@ indicates the reading is on electronic reserve (posted to Carmen “content” page)
Week 1, Aug 27-29:
Introduction to the Course: What is “women, environment and
development”?
Wednesday
Introduction to the subject matter and discussion on how we will conduct the course; discussion of syllabus and
course materials
Friday
Environmental issues in the public arena
Shared readings:
Griswold, Eliza. “How ‘Silent Spring’ Ignited the Environmental Movement.” NYTimes 9-21-2012.
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/09/23/magazine/how-silent-spring-ignited-the-environmentalmovement.html?ref=business
Koehn, Nancy. “From Calm Leadership, Lasting Change.” NYTimes 10-27-2012.
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/10/28/business/rachel-carsons-lessons-50-years-after-silentspring.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0
Want more?
Check out the United Nations Development Programme page on the MDGs-Millennium Development Goals.
Look at the goals associated with environment, sustainable development, food security, and related issues.
http://www.undp.org/content/undp/en/home/mdgoverview.html
@ Check out AGENDA 21, the non-binding international agreement forged at the United Nations Conference on
Environment & Development held in Rio de Janeiro, the “Earth Summit,” 3-14 June 1992
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Week 2, Sept 3-5: In the beginning there was “development” and then they added women and
environment and “stirred”
Wednesday
From “add and stir” to “empowerment”
Shared readings:
Moser, Caroline. “Third World policy approaches to women in development.” Pp. 55-82 in Gender Planning and
Development. Routledge, 1993.
@Rowlands, Jo. “Empowerment examined.” Pp. 141-50 in Development with Women. Deborah Eade, ed. Oxfam
GB, 1999.
Handout: development timeline and priorities
Want to read more?
@Tinker, Irene. “The making of a field.” Pp. 33-42 in Persistent Inequalities. I. Tinker, ed. Oxford University
Press, 1990.
@Braidotti, et al. “Developmentalism: A discourse of power.” Pp. 17-28 in Women, the Environment and
Sustainable Development. Rosi Braidotti, et al. Zed Books, 1994.
Friday
Introducing environment and sustainable development into the development equation
Shared readings:
@Mellor, Mary. “Women, development, and environmental sustainability.” Pp. 145-62 in Global Sustainable
Development in the 21st Century. Edinburgh University Press, 2000.
“IWHC, RESURJ, DAWN and YCSRR Analysis of Rio+20.” 2012. 5 pp. http://www.dawnnet.org/advocacycso.php?id=254
“Rio+20 outcomes: What was agreed and what this means for women’s rights going forward.” AWID, October
2012. 6 pp. http://www.awid.org/News-Analysis/Friday-Files/Rio-20-Outcomes-What-Was-Agreed-AndWhat-This-Means-For-Women-s-Rights-Going-Forward
Want to read more?
@Bradotti, Rosi, E. Charkiewicz, S. Hausler, and S. Wieringa. “Women, the environment and sustainable
development.” Pp. 54-61 in the Women, Gender and Development Reader. Zed press, 1997.
“The future we want,” final document from the Rio+20 Earth Summit held in 2012 http://daccess-ddsny.un.org/doc/UNDOC/GEN/N11/476/10/PDF/N1147610.pdf?OpenElement
“Rio+20: Indigenous peoples’ international declaration on self-determination and sustainable development.”June
2012. 2 pp. http://www.iwgia.org/news/search-news?news_id=542
WED (the view from the “Third World”) and Ecofeminism (the view from the
“First World”)
HOMEWORK ASSIGNMENT 1 – everyone does this one
How do the DAWN authors conceptualize the links between “women,” “environment,” and
“development”? There are lots of ideas to choose from. Discuss what most interests you from the book.
Week 3, Sept 10-12:
Wednesday HW 1 due today
4
The DAWN collective and the book they produced in preparation for the “Earth Summit”-- the World Conference
on Environment held in 1992 (and this is the book referred to in Mellor read last Friday)
Shared readings:
@ Gita Sen and Caren Grown. Development, Crises, and Alternative Visions: Third World Women’s Perspectives.
Monthly Review Press, 1987. Book. Note: focus on getting a sense of what the authors define as
problems in how “development” has impacted people who are poor, especially women. And focus on
their idea of an alternative vision and its strategies and methods.
Friday
What kind of alternative visions do “ecofeminist” approaches bring to the discussion?
Shared readings:
Continue discussion of Sen and Grown book
Review Mellor from last week
Want to read more?
Leach, Melissa. “Earth mother myths and other ecofeminist fables: How a strategic notion rose and fell.”
Development and Change 38, 1, 2007:67-85.
Reuther, Rosemary Radford. “Ecofeminism: First and Third World women.” Ecotheology 2, 1997:72-83.
Week 4, Sept 17-19: The feminist political ecology framework
HOMEWORK ASSIGNMENT Option 2
How does the feminist political ecology perspective differ from an ecofeminist perspective? That is,
what does it encourage us to focus on to understand how & why women relate to the environment?
Wednesday Hand in HW Option 2 today
The feminist political ecology alternative
Shared readings:
Rocheleau, Dianne, Barbara Thomas-Slayter, and Esther Wangari. “Gender and environment: A feminist political
ecology perspective.” Pp. 3-26 in Feminist Political Ecology. D. Rocheleau, et al, eds. Routledge, 1996.
Want to read more?
Jackson, Cecile. “Doing what comes naturally? Women and environment in development.” World Development
21, 12, 1993:1947-63.
McNeill, Desmond. “Sustainability: An idea that makes a difference?” Pp. 10-30 in Global Sustainable
Development in the 21st Century. K. Lee, A. Holland, D. McNeill, eds. Endburgh University Press, 2000.
Friday
Case study: Wangari Maathai and the Green Belt Movement
Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BQU7JOxkGvo [we will view this video in class, 8:52]
Shared reading
@Muthuki, Janet. “Challenging patriarchal structures: Wangari Maathai and the Green Belt Movement in
Kenya.” Agenda: Empowering Women for Gender Equity 20, 69, 2006:83-91.
View this video before class: Documentary: Wangari Muta Maathai (1940 - 2011). It provides historical
background behind the Green Belt Movement and the personal and political events that led Maathai to
found it http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VW5qdeNKfs0 [47:46] Be ready to discuss in class.
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Want to read more?
Michaelson, Marc. “Wangari Maathai and Kenya’s Green Belt Movement: Exploring the evolution and
potentialities of consensus movement mobilization.” Social Problems 41, 4, 1994:540-61.
Week 5, Sept 24-26: Forest preservation and the Chipko movement
HOMEWORK ASSIGNMENT Option 3
Of the many reasons why gender matters for preserving forest resources in India, which do you find
the most compelling or interesting and why?
Wednesday Hand in HW Option 3 today
Case study: The Chipko movement (legend and reality)
Shared readings:
Video to watch outside of class: "ON THE FENCE: Chipko Movement Re-visited"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tlooQxBTrL8 [29:14] (film provides history and close look at
contemporary situation; we will discuss this in class)
Agarwal, Bina. “Conceptualizing environmental collective action: Why gender matters.” Cambridge Journal of
Economics 24, 2000:283-310.
Read one of the following articles. Note: there is overlap between Haigh and Bhatt, but each also provides some
different useful information.
Haigh, Martin. “Understanding ‘Chipko’: The Himalayan people’s movement for forest conservation.”
International Journal of Environmental Studies 31, 1988:99-110. (an outsider’s perspective)
Bhatt, Chandi Prasad. “The Chipko Andolan: Forest conservation based on people’s power.” Environment and
Urbanization 2, 1, 1990:7-18. (an insider’s perspective)
Want to read more?
Jain, Shobita. “Standing up for trees: Women’s role in the Chipko movement.” Pp. 163-78 in Women and the
Environment: A Reader. Sally Sontheimer, ed. Monthly Review Press, 1991.
Bandyopadhyay, Jayanta. “Chipko movement: Of floated myths and flouted realities.” 1999. An unpublished
paper available online: http://lib.icimod.org/record/10314/files/162.pdf (dispelling some widespread
myths)
Friday
Midterm exam 1
Week 6, Oct 1-3: Gender and food security as a development issue
Wednesday
Women as farmers and environmental managers in the “global south/third world”
Shared readings:
Gladwin, Christina et al. “Addressing food security in Africa via multiple livelihood strategies of women
farmers.” Food Policy 26, 2001:177-207.
Aguilar-Stoen, Mariel et al. “Home gardens sustain crop diversity and improve farm resilience in Candelaria
Loxicha, Oaxaca, Mexico.” Human Ecology 37, 2009:55-77.
@Lopes, Ana Paula and Emilia Jomalinis (Action Aid Brazil). “Agroecology: Exploring opportunities for
women’s empowerment based on experiences from Brazil.” A manual. Feminist Perspectives Towards
Transforming Economic Power December 2011. An AWID publication. 18 pp.
6
Want to read more?
Gadio, Coumba Mar and Cathy A. Rakowski. “Farmers’ changing roles in Thieudeme, Senegal: The impact of
local and global factors on three generations of women.” Gender & Society 13, 6, 1999:733-757.
Padmanabhan, Martina. “The making and unmaking of gendered crops in northern Ghana.” Singapore Journal of
Tropical Geography 28, 2007:57-70.
Friday
Women, gender and food security: a policy approach
Video to view in class: Growing Impact: African Women in Agricultural Research and Development (AWARD)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AQqxasp1Gno [9:35]
Shared readings:
“The vital role of women in agriculture and rural development.” Conference results, FAO, Rome 2011. 12 pp.
http://www.fao.org/docrep/meeting/022/mb054e.pdf
“Innovative approaches to gender and food security: Changing attitudes, changing behaviors.” Food Security
Insights 82, January 2012:1-8. http://www.eldis.org/vfile/upload/1/document/1202/insights82.pdf
Brown, Lynn et al. “Generating food security in the year 2020: Women as producers, gatekeepers, and shock
absorbers.” International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) Brief 17, May 1995. 4 pp.
http://www.ifpri.org/sites/default/files/publications/vb17.pdf
Want to read more?
@Sarojeni Rengam (PAN Asia-Pacific). “Women and Food Security.” Pp. 37-44 in Drawing on Farmers’
Experiences in Food Security: Local Successes and Global Failures. Gabrielle Stoll, ed. For the German
NGO Forum on Environment and Development. 2001. (look for the entire book on Carmen and then read
this chapter)
IFPRI Policy briefs: “Focus 6: Empowering women to achieve food security.” Briefs 1-12, 2001. 24 pp.
http://www.ifpri.org/sites/default/files/publications/focus06.pdf Scan the briefs to get a sense of the list
of activities and issues that are on the policy agenda.
Week 7, Oct 8-10: Gender and water management
HOMEWORK ASSIGNMENT Option 4
Why is water considered to be a “women’s issue”?
Wednesday Hand in HW 4 today
Women and water management
Shared readings:
Green, Cathy and Sally Baden. “Integrated water resources management: A gender perspective.” IDS Bulletin 28,
1, 1995:92-100.
Laurie Nina. “Gender water networks: femininity and masculinity in water politics in Bolivia.” International
Journal of Urban and Regional Research 35, 1, 2011:172-88.
Want to read more?
@Moraes, Andrea and Patricia Perkins. “Deliberative water management: Women’s experience in Brazil.” Pp.
140-54 in Eco-Sufficiency and Global Justice: Women Write Political Ecology. Ariel Salleh, ed. Pluto
Press, 2009.
Ray, Isha. “Women, water, and development.” Annual Review of Environment and Resources 32, 2007:421-49.
7
Friday
The fight against Coca Cola in Plachimada, Kerala, India
Video we will view in class: Indians Protest Coca Cola Plant http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wyFsodVUd-o
[1:31]
Shared video and readings:
Video to watch before class: Always Coca-Cola - India https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RWSjWWsFy9g
[28:56] uses Coca Cola link to Fifa sports as a way to begin critiques of how Coca Cola operates and to
discuss the conflict over depletion/pollution of water resources by Coca Cola plants in countries like India
Karthika, Annapoorna. “Bottling up a corporate giant: Victory of a mass movement.” Covalence Ethical
Quotation System, Analyst Paper. 2008.
http://www.ethicalquote.com/docs/BottlingUpaCorporateGiant.pdf
“The case against Coca-Cola Kerala State: India.” http://www.righttowater.info/rights-in-practice/legalapproaches/legal-approach-case-studies/case-against-coca-cola-kerala-state-india/
Want to read more?
Drew, Georgina. “From the groundwater up: Asserting water rights in India.” Development 51, 2008:37-41.
World March of Women. “Water is the common good of all humankind. Access to quality water is everyone’s
right.” 2012. 4 pp. http://www.europe-solidaire.org/spip.php?article24560
Week 8, Oct 15-17: Dams: Development? What kind? At what cost?
Special assignments this week
HOMEWORK ASSIGNMENT Option 5
Should human rights and environmental impacts be taken into account when deciding on big,
expensive dam projects?
Wednesday
Dams versus people and environment
View video in class: Video, 1 of a series on the displacement of people in the Narmada River Valley
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rexfjg0xGek [12:30]
Shared readings:
Mehta, Lyla. “Balancing pains and gains: A perspective paper on gender and large dams.” WCD Thematic
Review 1,1, 2000. 42 pp. Look for information specific to how gender plays a role in conflicts over dams
and how dam projects impact men and women differently.
Brieger, Tracey and Ali Sauer. “Narmada Valley: Planting trees, uprooting people.” Economic and Political
Weekly, October 28, 2000:3795-97.
Want more?
Gandhi, Ajay. “Developing compliance and resistance: The state, transnational social movements and tribal
peoples contesting India’s Narmada project.” Global Networks 3, 4, 2003:481-95.
O’Bannon, Brett. “The Narmada River project: Toward a feminist model of women in development.” Policy
Sciences 27, 1994:247-267.
Video, 3rd in a series on the displacement of people in the Narmada River Valley
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=totnc4fw7Ms [13:13]
Russo, Christina. “A Kenyan woman stands up against massive dam project.” Environment 360 (Yale
University). 4 pp. http://e360.yale.edu/content/print.msp?id=2520
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Friday Hand in HW Option 5 today
Before class, students will choose one of the two topics, then will do the research and discuss them in class,
guided by the HW questions.
Everyone watches these 2 videos before class to familiarize themselves with both cases:
Video: Is the Three Gorges Dam a Ticking Time Bomb? 19:30 min.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3z9K82ZVdMA
Video: Brazil’s Belo Monte Dam: Conflict in the Amazon. 13 min.
http://e360.yale.edu/feature/video_belo_monte_dam_conflict_in_the_brazilian_amazon/2536/
Choice 1: Three Gorges Dam – China
Some resources: (you choose which to read)
Du, Daisy Yan. “Documenting Three Gorges Migrants: Gendered Voices of (Dis)placement and Citizenship
in Rediscovering the Yangtze River and Bingai.” Women’s Studies Quarterly 38, 1-2, 2010.
Yardley, Jim. “Chinese Dam Projects Criticized for Their Human Costs.” NYTimes 11-19-2007
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/11/19/world/asia/19dam.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0
“China's Enormous Three Gorges Dam Could End Up Being A Huge Mistake” Business Insider 4-23-2012.
http://www.businessinsider.com/chinas-enormous-three-gorges-dam-is-turning-out-to-be-a-huge-mistake-20124?op=1#ixzz3ArF9gXen
Kittinger, John, et al. “Toward holistic evaluation and assessment: Linking ecosystems and human well-being
for the Three Gorges Dam.” EcoHealth March 2010.
Aird, Sarah. “China’s Three Gorges: The impact of dam construction on emerging human rights.” Human
Rights Brief, 2001.
http://digitalcommons.wcl.american.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1490&context=hrbrief&seiredir=1&referer=http%3A%2F%2Fscholar.google.com%2Fscholar%3Fhl%3Den%26q%3Dgender%2Bimpac
ts%2Bchina%2Bthree%2Bgorges%2Bdam%26btnG%3D%26as_sdt%3D1%252C36%26as_sdtp%3D#search
=%22gender%20impacts%20china%20three%20gorges%20dam%22
Choice 2: Belo Monte Dam – Brazil
Some possible resources: (you choose which to read)
Fearnside, Philip. “Dams in the Amazon: Belo Monte and Brazil’s Hydroelectric Development of the Xingu
River Basin.” Environmental Management (2006)
http://philip.inpa.gov.br/publ_livres/Preprints/2005/Belo%20Monte%20dec%20making-EM-2.pdf
Bingham, Alexa. “Discourse of the Damned: A study of the impacts of sustainable development discourse on
indigenous peoples in the Brazilian Amazon in the context of the proposed Belo Monte hydroelectric dam.”
POLIS Journal 4, Winter 2010. http://www.polis.leeds.ac.uk/assets/files/students/student-journal/ma-winter10/bingham-e.pdf
Timo, Petalla Brandao. “Development at the cost of violations: The impact of megaprojects on the human
rights in Brazil. SUR, a human rights journal, 18, 2013.
http://surjournal.org/eng/conteudos/getArtigo18.php?artigo=18,artigo_08.htm
Bratman, Eve Z. “Contradiction of Green Development: Human rights and environmental norms in light of
Belo Monte Dam activism.” Journal of Latin American Studies 46, 2, 2014.
9
Brown, Chip. “Kayapo Courage.” National Geographic January 2014.
http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/2014/01/kayapo/brown-text
Week 9, Oct 22 – 24
Wednesday
Making sense of it all…a stop, breathe and reflect discussion
Friday
Midterm exam 2
Week 10, Oct 29 - 31: Toxic waste movements
HOMEWORK ASSIGNMENT Option 6
How would you describe the relationship between race, class and/or gender in toxic waste issues?
Wednesday
Love Canal
Video we will view in class: Love Canal by lexilou1461 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=azNR-hvmzJM [9:29]
Shared readings:
Hay, Amy. “Recipe for disaster: Motherhood and citizenship at Love Canal.” Journal of Women’s History 21, 1,
2009:111-34.
Want more?
Newman, Rich. “Making environmental politics: Women and love canal activism.” Women’s Studies Quarterly
1&2, 2001:65-84. [this one has a lot of historical detail and interview info]
Robinson, Erin. “Community frame analysis in Love Canal: Understanding messages in a contaminated
community.” Sociological Spectrum 22, 2002:139-69.
Video: Love Canal 01, History Channel, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kzwacZZe5yk [7:10] (this film discusses aspects of
the clean up as well as the origin of the problem; terrible editing but great facts here)
Friday Hand in HW option 6
Race, class, gender and environmental injustice
Shared readings:
@Simpson, Andrea. “Who hears their cry? African American women and the fight for environmental justice in
Memphis, Tennessee.” Pp. 82-104 in The Environmental Justice Reader. J. Adamson, M. Evans, and R.
Stein, eds. University of Arizona Press, 2002.
Krauss, Celene. “Women and toxic waste protests: Race, class and gender as resources of resistance.” Qualitative
Sociology 16, 3, 1993:247-62.
Want to read more?
Brown, Phil and Faith Ferguson. “’Making a big stink’: Women’s work, women’s relationships and toxic waste
activism.” Gender & Society 9, 2, 1995:145-72.
Newell, Peter. “Race, class and the global politics of environmental inequality.” Global Environmental Politics 5,
3, 2005:70-94. http://r4d.dfid.gov.uk/PDF/Outputs/CentreOnCitizenship/1052734479-newell.2005race.pdf
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Week 11, Nov 5 - 7: Gender and disasters
HOMEWORK ASSIGNMENT Option 7
Prepare notes for discussion on either the Red River Valley or Katrina and hand your HW in
on the day we discuss your chosen topic
Wednesday
Gender and class in chronic flood situations
Shared readings:
Enarson, Elaine and M. Fordham. “From women’s needs to women’s rights in disasters.” Environmental Hazards
3, 2001:133-36.
Enarson, E. “What women do: Gendered labor in the Red River Valley flood.” Environmental Hazards 3, 2001:118.
“Unsung heroines: Women and natural disasters.” Gender Matters Information Bulletin No. 8, January 2000.
http://pdf.usaid.gov/pdf_docs/PNACL189.pdf
Want more?
Juran, L. “The Gendered Nature of Disasters: Women Survivors in Post-Tsunami Tamil Nadu.” Indian Journal of
Gender Studies 9, 1, 2012: 1-29.
Friday
Gender, class, race and Hurricane Katrina
Shared readings:
@Litt, J., A. Skinner and K. Robinson. “The Katrina Difference: African American women’s networks and
poverty in New Orleans after Katrina.” Pp. 130-141 in The Women of Katrina: How Gender, Race, and
Class Matter in an American Disaster, ed. E. David and E. Enarson. Vanderbilt Univ. Press, 2012.
Elliott, J. and J. Pais. “Race, class, and Hurricane Katrina: Social differences in human responses to disaster.”
Social Science Research 35, 2006:295-321.
Belkhir, J. and C. Charlemaine. “Race, gender and class lessons from Hurricane Katrina.” Race, Gender & Class
14, 1-2, 2007:120-152.
Want more?
Scott, J. and W. Katz-Fishman. “American through the eye of Hurricane Katrina—Capitalism at its “best.” What
are we prepared to do?” Race, Gender & Class 14, 1-2, 2007:7-16.
Fin, S. “Life and death in a hospital ravaged by Hurricane Katrina.” Excerpt from a book. Oct. 13, 2013.
http://www.kevinmd.com/blog/2013/10/life-death-hospital-ravaged-hurricane-katrina.html
Human Rights Watch. “New Orleans: Prisoners abandoned to floodwaters.” September 21, 2005.
http://www.hrw.org/news/2005/09/21/new-orleans-prisoners-abandoned-floodwaters
Ariyabandu, Madhavi M. “Impact of hazards on women and children: Situation in South Asia.” Practical Answers
to Poverty paper. June 2000.
http://www.gdnonline.org/sourcebook/chapt/doc_view.php?id=7&docid=399
Week 12, Nov 12 - 14: Gender and climate change, the environmental challenge
Wednesday
Shared readings:
Terry, G. “No climate justice without gender justice: An overview of the issues.” Gender & Development 17, 1,
2009:5-18.
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Nelson, V. and T. Stathers. “Resilience, power, culture, and climate: A case study from semi-arid Tanzania, and
new research directions.” Gender & Development 17, 1, 2009:81-94.
@Spitzner, Meike. “How global warming is gendered: A view from the EU.” Pp. 218-29 in Eco-Sufficiency &
Global Justice, ed. Ariel Salleh. Pluto Press, 2009.
Video to watch before class: Adapting to climate change in Eastern and Southern Africa 20:42 min.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tIp2RkDQBMg
Want more?
Video: “When the Water Ends: Africa’s Climate Conflicts” produced by Yale University Environment 360 project.
16 min. http://e360.yale.edu/feature/when_the_water_ends_africas_climate_conflicts/2331/
Nelson, Valerie et al. “Uncertain predictions, invisible impacts, and the need to mainstream gender in climate
change adaptations.” Gender & Development 10, 2, 2002:51-59.
Dankelman, Irene. “Climate change: Learning from gender analysis and women’s experiences of organizing for
sustainable development.” Gender & Development 10, 2, 2002:21-29.
Denton, Fatma. “Climate change vulnerability, impacts, and adaptation: Why does gender matter?” Gender &
Development 10, 2, 2002:10-20.
Video: Weathering Change - Stories About Climate and Family from Around the World
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hPy3pLBZvuE [13:58]
Friday
Gendering policy and actions
Shared readings:
@Brownhill, L. and T. Turner. “Women and the Abuja Declaration for Energy.” Pp. 230-250 in Eco-Sufficiency
& Global Justice, ed. Ariel Salleh. Pluto Press, 2009.
Nampinga, R. “Emerging issues panel: Gender Perspectives on Climate Change.” Paper presented to the
Commission on the Status of Women, UN, 2008. 7 pp.
http://www.un.org/womenwatch/daw/csw/csw52/panels/climatechangepanel/R.Nampinga%20Presentatio
n.pdf
Hernmati, M. and U. Rohr. “Engendering the climate-change negotiations: Experiences, challenges, and steps
forward.” Gender & Development 17, 1, 2009:19-32.
Want to read more?
“Women as key players in climate adaptation.” JotoAfrika 6, March 2011: 1-8.
http://www.eldis.org/vfile/upload/1/document/1104/JotoAfrika_Issue%206.pdf
@Gender and Climate Change: Toolkit for women on climate change. ISIS International. No date.
http://www.isiswomen.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=1530:gender-and-climatechange-toolkit-for-women-on-climate-change&catid=163:publications&Itemid=240
Makhabane, Tieho. “Promoting the role of women in sustainable energy development in Africa: Networking and
capacity-building.” Gender & Development 10, 2, 2002:84-91.
BRIDGE. “Gender and climate change: Mapping the linkages. A scoping study on knowledge and gaps.” 2008.
http://siteresources.worldbank.org/EXTSOCIALDEVELOPMENT/Resources/DFID_Gender_Climate_C
hange.pdf
Video: Africa's Climate Change Challenge http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gqbRSkw9gZs [9:10] considers
policy discussions and some strategies
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Land rights and land grabs in Africa – environmental and social issues
HOMEWORK ASSIGNMENT Option 8
In the film on land grabs (Planet for Sale), what environmental or social consequences do you see?
Week 13, Nov 19 - 21:
Wednesday
Women and land rights
Watch video in class: Dignity: Women and Land Rights in Burundi 11:25 min.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OWA8huETxoA
Shared video and reading:
Koopman, Jeanne and Iba Mar Faye. “Land grabs, women’s farming, and women’s activism in Africa.”
Conference paper for Land Deal Politics Initiative, October 17-19, 2012. http://www.cornelllandproject.org/download/landgrab2012papers/Koopman.pdf
Watch this film before class. We will discuss the issues both days this week: Video: Food crisis and the global land
grab documentary - Planet for Sale? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IU1-PpxqeZc [54:22] The first part of this
film focuses on the economic rationale behind “land grabs.” The second half follows an investor and the
impact of his take over of land on local people and ecosystem.
Friday
Continue discussion of land land grabs
Video we will watch in class, 1:20 min: Tanzanian women talking about land grabs.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U5DTFziHsa8
Shared readings:
@Chu, Jessica. “Gender and ‘land grabbing’ in Sub-Saharan Africa: Women’s land rights and customary land
tenure.” Development 54, 1, 2011:35-39.
@Zoomers, Annelies. “Introduction: Rushing for land: Equitable and sustainable development in Africa, Asia and
Latin America.” Development 54,1, 2011:12-20.
Week 14: THANKSGIVING WEEK. NO CLASS. Take Tuesday to work on your final essay.
Week 15, Dec 3-5: Pulling it all together
Final exam (a take home) will be emailed to you this week.
Final Essay due Friday
Wednesday
We will go back over key concepts and frameworks and revisit case studies and issues as you wish.
Friday Hand in your essays/papers today
Discuss student papers & final exam
FINAL EXAM: Take home exam due on Saturday, December 13 by 9 pm. SEND TO ME AS AN EMAIL
ATTACHMENT. I will acknowledge receipt.
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