Social Ecology

Objectives of the course

Environmental problems originate in reality from our society. Their origin, understanding and prevention can not be successful without including various humanistic sciences including sociology. Valuation of environmental impacts, conflicts of interests in use of land, natural resources and conservation of natural heritage against the actions of ťcivilizationŤ, are key sociologic themes. Students should get acquainted with basic sociologic approaches and knowledge of protection of natural heritage, i.e. with topics frequently encountered by those, who deal with the protection of nature from the natural or technical point of view.

Prerequisites

Basic high-school knowledge of humanistic is required.

Assessment methods

Seminar presentation and exam.

Course contents

The course covers: contemporary risks of the society, decentralised society, differentiated modern society and integral environmental protection, protection of natural heritage, effects of technologic development, hipercomplexity, postmodernism, regulated development of the society, sustainable development, social ecology development and reach, relation between legal and legitimate in regulation of environmental protection, societal values and ecological conciousness, growth of consumption, free time activities and environmental protection, ecological movements, environmental protection and local development, forecasting of effects, unwanted consequences.

Recommended reading

• Beck, Ulrich, 1992: Risk Society - Towards a New Modernity. Sage, London
• Catton, W.R., 1987: Zmogljivost okolja in meje svobode. Teorija in praksa, št. 3/4, Ljubljana
• Cifrič, Ivan, 1989: Socijalna ekologija. Globus, Zagreb
• Gantar, Pavel, 1990: Sociološka kritika teorij planiranja. FDV Ljubljana
• Gruen, L. & Jamieson, D., 1994: Reflection on Nature. Oxford University Press
• Kirn, Andrej ur., 1991: Ekologija - ekonomija - entropija. Maribor
• Kos, Drago, 1993: Racionalnost neformalnih prostorov (str. 29-55) FDV, Ljubljana
• Plut, Dušan, 1987: Slovenija, zelena dežela ali pustinja. Ljubljana
• Simmons, G., 1993: Interpreting Nature-Cultural Constructions of the Environmnet. Routledge, London
• Toš, Gantar, Kos, 1993: Ekološke sondaže. FDV, Ljubljana
• Warde, A., 1990: Introduction to the sociology of consumption. Sociology, vol. 24, no. 1, feb.