Climate Colonialism: LAB
Eugene Lang College Lib Arts: Sociology
CRN: 16871
Credits: 4
This interdisciplinary seminar explores the entangled histories of climate, empire, and extraction, and their afterlives in our present. Together we examine how colonialism shaped the landscapes, ecologies, and infrastructures of the modern world, and how those legacies continue to structure climate vulnerability and environmental injustice today. Through readings from environmental history, postcolonial theory, and critical geography, students will trace connections between plantation economies, resource frontiers, urban development, and contemporary climate crises. Half of the course is spent in the field, taking class trips to Coney Island, the Hudson Valley, and New York City’s parks to observe and analyze sites of environmental transformation, racialized displacement, and climate resilience. These excursions encourage students to see the city and surrounding environs as living archives of climate colonialism, from coastal erosion and toxic waste sites to green gentrification projects. The seminar culminates in a collaborative creative project: students produce climate colonialism-inspired works of creation and art: installations, performances, visual media, soundscapes, etc. that reflect on the histories and futures of climate justice. Our classroom becomes a studio and laboratory for imagining decolonial futures, asking: what does repair look like in the age of climate catastrophe?
College: Eugene Lang College Lib Arts (LC)
Department: Sociology (SOC)
Campus: New York City (GV)
Course Format: Seminar (R)
Modality: In-Person
Max Enrollment: 18
Add/Drop Deadline: February 3, 2026 (Tuesday)
Online Withdrawal Deadline: April 14, 2026 (Tuesday)
Seats Available: Yes
Status: Open*
* Status information is updated every few minutes. The status of this course may have changed since the last update. Open seats may have restrictions that will prevent some students from registering. Updated: 4:22am EDT 10/5/2025