There isn’t very much core content in Environmental Studies.
Whoa, back up, arrogant upperclassman. That’s a bold claim to make. Well, at some point I was taught to put my strongest statement first. Let’s unpack what I mean by considering it in context. In a distinct discipline (let’s use economics as an example), there is a definite progression of concepts, models, theories, and other disciplinary institutions that essentially all students of that discipline must learn before they are considered well-versed practitioners. Economics starts off with basic microeconomic models of supply and demand, discusses households’ and firms’ decision process under systems ranging from perfect competition to pure monopoly, moves on to complicated macroeconomic models of fiscal and monetary policy, and equips students with the methodology of statistical data analysis to create and test models within the bounds of economic theory.
Environmental studies doesn’t have that kind of structural center. For sure, there are big names and prominent theories. You can start with Classic Environmentalism’s Limits to Growth, the Brundtland Report, and The Population Bomb, warning of the impending disaster of resource overuse and of the apocalyptic implications of Malthusian thinking. You can talk about the IPAT model and the Demographic Transition. You can move on to more contemporary thinkers such as Bruno Latour and Elinor Ostrom, who have their act together are able to synthesize the work of classic environmentalists with considerations of technological development and other modern structures, and you can talk about reductionism, essentialism, and apocalypticism in rhetoric. But at the end of the day, these are just a few of many possible perspectives that we use to grapple with the ideas of what defines our environments, what issues are relevant to those environments, and how we approach those issues. It remains to us to synthesize our own structure by seeking out the most relevant perspectives, as well as those that might not seem so relevant at first. Crafting composite perspectives based on the ideas and systems we find in the world is part of what allows environmental studies to approach issues in a way that crosses boundaries between walks of life.
I love to challenge myself and my views of the world.
Wow, he really does like to lead with those audacious one-liners. Sue me, because it’s kind of the motif of this post. And challenging myself to consider multiple views of the world is exactly what synthesizing perspectives in environmental studies does. When I study economics (which, in case that wasn’t already apparent, I do), I have the core structure and perspective of the discipline to lean on to support my research. For almost any prospective field of economic study, I can find existing theorists whose models I can extrapolate into my own. A major challenge of environmental studies is being able to undertake research without the crutch of a core structure to rely on for support. Because we are constantly constructing that structure for ourselves in environmental studies, we must constantly question how effective it is in supporting our research, and how applicable it is to the real world. This kind of self-questioning not only allows us to broaden and deepen our research, it leads to results which are eminently useable.
I have a complete draft of my thesis due in 34 hours.
Um, shouldn’t you get back to work on that? Oh believe me, I’m going to as soon as I finish this post. This is what passes for a study break for me these days. Writing my thesis has been an all-encompassing process for me over the last six months. In many ways, my senior year has been an experiment in how thoroughly and completely I can dedicate myself to a task. The thing is, I love it. I could probably get by with less work than I am currently doing, but that wouldn’t allow me to immerse myself in my research, challenge my existing views, and come out having synthesized a perspective that allows me to view aspects of my world in a new way.
The logic and mentality that I have gained from my studies in ENVS, at L&C in general, and in the overall experience of the last four years of my life has fundamentally shaped the way in which I approach concepts and issues. I am constantly challenging myself to find alternate approaches, consider various perspectives, and find value in relation to the multiple contexts in which that value might be activated (and if that phrase sounds familiar to you, its probably because you’ve read/talked to me about my thesis recently). If I were immersing myself so thoroughly in any other field of study, I would feel as though I were cutting myself off from the world. Environmental studies is the only field in which I can immerse myself and, as a result, feel I am connecting with a greater amount of the world around me.