Environmental Racism: Black & White Politics

UNDERGRAD | We will study racism and the environment within the broader context of US land use and development, employing theories coming from within the tradition of Black geographies and racial capitalism to understand environmental racism’s prevalence and how it can be addressed. To do so, much of our work will focus on the level of towns and local politics.

While the class will focus on the United States, we will also make connections to global communities experiencing and fighting environmental racism. We will examine intersections between racism and the global fight for climate justice, and discuss the racially disparate impact of climate change thus far. We will also explore perspectives on the environment and environmentalism: for instance, we will investigate the historic whiteness of the environmental movement, and look at the impact of different approaches to land and nature. We will address various topics showing the broad reach of environmental racism, and how it shapes black and white communities. We will talk about the role of time in wielding environmental harm both “fast and slow.”

About

Louise Seamster is a sociologist whose research examines contemporary mechanisms for the reproduction of racial and economic inequality. Dr. Seamster’s research centers on politics and urban development, emergency financial management, debt, and the myth of racial progress. Her first book, The Flint Water Coup: Debt at the End of Democracy (under contract with Duke University Press), investigates the financial and political causes of the Flint Water Crisis. In parallel, her Flint Email Lab of graduate and undergraduate students is creating a website archive of public government email communications relating to the crisis. Another line of research examines racial disparities in debt. Her work on “predatory inclusion” in student debt has led to extensive policy work, including research informing Senator Elizabeth Warren’s student debt forgiveness plan. Her many media appearances include the New York Times’ Ezra Klein Show, WNYC’s The Takeaway, Bloomberg News, and other national outlets.