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Starting-points

Developing a socio-epistemological approach to environmental education: Contextualizing social justice in the era of sustainable development.

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Starting-points

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  1. Developing a socio-epistemological approach to environmental education: Contextualizing social justice in the era of sustainable development Paul R. Carr Gina Thésée Youngstown State University Université du Québec à Montréal Youngstown, Ohio Montréal, Québec

  2. Starting-points • Who defines the normative values used to understand environmental issues? • How is power structured to shape decision-making processes and the allocation of resources with regard to the environment? • Can we understand development outside of the economic realm? • What is the place of social justice within the concept/notion/study of the environment?

  3. Problematic • The over-development of the North --> multiple vulnerabilities in the South • Environmental education --> education on/for/about sustainable development • Colonialist and neo-liberal hegemony invalidate knowledge of “others” --> epistemological racism

  4. Propositions • A posture of resistance in which inequitable power relations and validation of indigenous knowledge are considered (inclusion and social justice) • Inter-/multi-/trans-cultural interchange replaces traditional monologue between two inequitable parties • An alternative approach—socio-epistemological resistance—is need to ensure a place for marginalized cultures • The environment must be understood in its totality, surpassing the economic sphere, and including non-imputed damage (war, industry, waste, etc.)

  5. Epistemological racism • Disqualification, marginalization and exclusion of knowledge (colonization of the mind) • Un-conscious thought and action • Civilizational scope and impact • Inter-woven implementation through the scientific-military-religious triad • Whiteness as an infused normative value

  6. Differentiated geography • Environmental threats—climate, chemical, nuclear, biological, bacteriological, etc.—are connected to arms producers/venders/users, multinational profiteers, business men with limited ethical values, electoral politics, an unconscious positivistic science industry, and, in general, a number of elites who believe that they are morally justified in their actions. •  vulnerability •  consideration for implication and impact • The neo-liberal mantra for the environment (4 Rs): • Reduce! • Recover! • Recycle! • Re-use!

  7. Analytical framework • Necessity (are our actions necessary?) • Risks (do we evaluate the level of risk for our actions?) • Predictability (do we know of the impact of our actions in advance?) • Objective and result (do we achieve what we plan to achieve?) • Costs and benefits (are we satisfied with the results of our actions?) • Centrality of the environment (what is the place of the environment in our actions?) • Vulnerability (who is the most affected by our actions?) • Social justice (is social justice a part of our actions?)

  8. Five vignettes on the environment, power and vulnerability • Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans (2005) • Iraq War (2003 - 2007) • Invasion into Lebanon (2006) • Haïti (slavery, colonialism and neo-colonialism) • Aboriginal peoples in Canada (since the beginning of contact with “Second Peoples”)

  9. Hurricane Katrina (2005) • Was the damage from the Hurricane foreseeable? • How were race relations before the Hurricane? • How was the Hurricane described by the media? • What was the role of the environment in the story? • What is the linkage with the war in Iraq? • What was the international reaction? • How do people live today in New Orleans? • If New Orleans had been a majority White population, would the damage have been as great?

  10. Hurricane Katrina (2005) • Other defining points: • The role of race and class • Who was able to evacuate • The proposals and cost for reinforcing the levies before the Hurricane • The non-clarity around the number of deceased • Comments made by the President’s mother • Reaction and demeanor of President • The offer from Cuba to send 500 doctors • Some religious leaders proclaimed that it was justified because of the immorality of New Orleans • The absence of the environment as a story

  11. http://images.google.com/images?q=hurricane+katrina+photos&hl=en&lr=&sa=X&oi=images&ct=titlehttp://images.google.com/images?q=hurricane+katrina+photos&hl=en&lr=&sa=X&oi=images&ct=title http://images.google.com/images?q=hurricane+katrina+photos&hl=en&lr=&sa=X&oi=images&ct=title

  12. http://images.google.com/images?q=hurricane+katrina+photos&hl=en&lr=&sa=X&oi=images&ct=titlehttp://images.google.com/images?q=hurricane+katrina+photos&hl=en&lr=&sa=X&oi=images&ct=title

  13. Iraq War (2003-2007) • Was the damage from the War foreseeable? • How were the ethnic and religious relations before the War? • How was the story recounted by the (embedded) media? • What is the role of the environment in the story? • Is “Shock and Awe” an appropriate way to characterize the bombing of Baghdad? • What is the connection between the Iraq War and the other 40 conflicts taking place around the world? • What was the international reaction? • How do Iraqis live today? • What would have been the reaction if Iraq were majority Christian?

  14. Iraq War (2003-2007) • Other defining points: • American troops killed (3,700) • Other Americans (contractors, workers, translators) killed (unknown) • Iraqis killed (40,000 – 700,000) • % of Americans who still believe that Saddam has WMDs (35 % - 2006) • % of Iraqis strongly opposed to foreign troop precense (82 % - 2005) • US expenditure ($700M - $1trillion+) • Number of tons of bombs dropped on Iraq (unknown) • Number of allies involved (approx. 40, with more than half having withdrawn; few countries with more than 300 troops) • Environmental impact studies (unknown) • Quality of life since 2003 • Why Iraq and not one of more than the over 40 other countries which have poor human rights records and also pose a presumable threat? • How has US prestige internationally fared since the start of the War?

  15. http://images.google.com/images?q=iraq+war&ndsp=20&svnum=10&hl=en&lr=&start=80&sa=Nhttp://images.google.com/images?q=iraq+war&ndsp=20&svnum=10&hl=en&lr=&start=80&sa=N

  16. http://images.google.com/images?q=iraq+war&ndsp=20&svnum=10&hl=en&lr=&start=80&sa=Nhttp://images.google.com/images?q=iraq+war&ndsp=20&svnum=10&hl=en&lr=&start=80&sa=N

  17. Invasion of Lebanon (2006) • Was the damage foreseeable? Was the suffering necessary? • What were the ethnic and religious relations before the invasion? • How did the media describe/analyze the story? • What was the role of the environment in the Invasion? • What is the linkage to other wars around the world? • What was the international reaction? • How do the Lebanese live now? • What would be the reaction if Lebanon were in another region of the world?

  18. Invasion of Lebanon (2006) • Other defining points: • Thousands of tons of bombs dropped on Lebanon and hundreds of rockets launched at Israel • Approximately 40 Lebanese die each month from unexploded bombs • Estimated cost of the reconstruction ($20B) • Implications for tourism, business and education • Approximately 1,500 Lebanese and 30 Israelis killed • Environmental studies undertaken (unknown) • Assessment from Canadian PM: “The response from Israel was measured”

  19. Lebanon peopleoflebanon.net/

  20. Haïti (slavery, colonialism, neo-colonialism, and neo-liberalism) • Natural and cultural erosion (tacitly under the passive regard of the international community) • Results : profits for “others”, capital flight, cheap labour, absence of labour and environmental laws, etc. • Deforestation (>90% of the country) ; potable water is not available universally ; trees for fuel ; open waste sources leading to contamination of people and animals • A “forgettable”, non-strategic et allied country (Haitian refugees vs. Cuban refugees ; Haitians in Dominican Republic) • No Logo by Naomi Klein • Poverty is not linked to Northern countries

  21. http://www.language-works.com/Haiti/photoindex.htm

  22. http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/caribbean/sfl-edge-n-haitierode,0,2849490.flashhttp://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/caribbean/sfl-edge-n-haitierode,0,2849490.flash

  23. First Nations (Canada) • Aboriginal art in Canadian embassies • Constitutional protection and disrespected treaties • Unacceptable social conditions • Conflicts over ancestral rights (fishing, hunting, natural resources, territorial) • Oka, Ipperwash, New Brunswick, etc. • How do the media, the government and society perceive these conflicts? • How is the environment positioned in these conflicts?

  24. Neo-liberalism as the only option • Neo-liberalism in education • competition • standardization • employability • testing • accountability (but for whom and how?) • What is the place of social justice, citizenship, democracy and the environment in education? • Is there room for political literacy in education?

  25. Questioning the truth • Is it possible to have a “pedagogy for the oppressed” in order to reverse the destruction of the planet and unwavering poverty? (political literacy) • Can intercultural relations address the problem of the legitimation of knowledge? (the sociology of power) • How should environmental education be adapted to contemporary planetary challenges? (reconciling vulnerabilities)

  26. Environmental education and social justice: is it possible? • Can North America criticize Brazil over the Amazon when it consumes 20 times per capita the amount of Southern countries? • When the North intensifies its militarization, including selling arms to the South, with a view to increasing employment and profits domestically, what should be said and done about the destruction of the environment (and poverty)? • Sociology and epistemology • Questing the “neutrality” of power • A challenge for teaching and learning • How do we speak about critical pedagogy when critiquing policy is considered unacceptable?

  27. Conclusion • Is there an integration of cultural knowledge within environmental education? • Philosophical foundations, epistemological perspectives, critical postures, social understanding and political movement: How do they coalesce around the fundamental tenets of teaching environmental education? • Proposition: a socio-epistemological educational approach to resistance

  28. The socio-epistemological educational approach to resistance • Empowerment, political literacy, social justice and critical pedagogy • The 4 Rs: • Refuse • Re-question • Re-define • Re-affirm

  29. Merci Thank You Obrigado Gracias Mési anpil

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