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Article
Bridging the Interdisciplinary Divide: Co-Advancing the Pedagogy of Environmental Justice Through a Digital Commons Initiative
Interdisciplinary Environmental Review
  • Robin Evans-Agnew, University of Washington Tacoma
  • Jane Compson, University of Washington Tacoma
  • Chris Scott Lower
Publication Date
1-1-2015
Document Type
Article
Abstract

Opportunities to advance environmental justice and sustainability pedagogy in academic settings are challenged by: 1) the balkanisation of such conceptions into different academic discourses, and 2) the exclusion of community discourses outside academia. Two dominant academic discourses in environmental justice originate from either anthropocentric (human) or ecocentric (non-human) conceptualisations. An interdisciplinary undergraduate teaching project that sought to integrate such discourses and privilege the voice of the community is described. In the course of an environmental ethics class, two faculty from philosophy and nursing initiated an assignment to produce short documentary interviews and transcripts (n = 18) with community members in a US City 'Defining environmental justice' for archiving as open-source material in a University Library. Of the video-transcripts produced, most (n = 16) explored anthropocentric positions. In this presentation, the dominance of anthropocentric discourses is explored as both an opportunity and a challenge for advancing the pedagogy of environmental justice and sustainability.

DOI
10.1504/IER.2015.071017
Publisher Policy
publisher's pdf (with 6 month embargo)
Citation Information
Robin Evans-Agnew, Jane Compson and Chris Scott Lower. "Bridging the Interdisciplinary Divide: Co-Advancing the Pedagogy of Environmental Justice Through a Digital Commons Initiative" Interdisciplinary Environmental Review Vol. 16 Iss. 2-4 (2015) p. 158 - 174
Available at: http://works.bepress.com/jane_compson/11/