USP515 Session 2 Notes
September 1, 2020
August 31st and September 2ndSession Two: Central Concepts1. Bring in written definitions of the following concepts and be prepared to discuss them: class, race, ethnicity, poverty, nature, environment, urban, right, prejudice, discrimination, racism, institutionalized racism, toxics, public health, protection from harm. - class: - the hierarchical classification of people based on wealth - the economic system of control within a society - race: - a social construct to categorize individuals - the hierarchical classification of people based on race - ethnicity: a social group that shares common religion, history, etc. - poverty: lacking sufficient resources to survive and flourish - nature: - all the plants and animals and the natural landscape - the collective physical world - if you subtract humans from the world, everything that’s left - environment: - all the surrounding things including people, animals, etc which impact our lives. - where we live, work, play, pray, advocate, learn, love, move - urban (latin for city) - having to do with cities or towns - metropolis, metropolitan (greek for city) - right: - something to which someone is entitled - the right thing to do - prejudice: beliefs that some groups are better than other groups. - discrimination: acting on the basis of prejudice to steal power and/or resources from a marginalized group in order to benefit a privileged group. - racism: the collective theft of power and resources from racially marginalized groups to benefit racially privileged groups - institutionalized racism: one of the three levels of systemic racism, institutional racism includes racism in institutions like education, the police, and in hiring. - toxics: pollutants in the environment - public health: the policies and institutions dedicated to improving and maintaining the health of the public. - protection from harm: the way that privileged groups are protected by shifting risks and harms onto marginalized groups.
- Bring in the names and emails of the congress people and senators that represent your district.
- House:
- Doris Matsui (sacramento4doris@gmail.com)
- Senate:
- Dianne Feinstein (senator@feinstein.senate.gov)
- Kamala Harris (senator@harris.senate.gov)
- House:
Session Notes
- What do you think of when you hear the term “environmental justice”? -
- What do you think the concept “environmental justice” implies and is aiming for? -
- How does environmental justice relate to the planning of the urban environment and to people’s everyday lives? -
NO ASSIGNED READING FOR SESSION TWO