UGC NET Sociology Environment and Society Syllabus

Environment and Society syllabus — full chapter and topic list

Expand any chapter to see its topics and sub-topics. This is the whole examinable outline for Environment and Society in UGC NET Sociology, not a summary of it.

1. 1

   Social and Cultural Ecology

   1 topic

   • Diverse Forms
2. 2

   Technological Change, Agriculture and Biodiversity

   overview

   Examined as a single unit within Environment and Society — no further topic split in the official outline.

3. 3

   Indigenous Knowledge Systems and Ethno-Medicine

   overview

   Examined as a single unit within Environment and Society — no further topic split in the official outline.

4. 4

   Gender and Environment

   overview

   Examined as a single unit within Environment and Society — no further topic split in the official outline.

5. 5

   Forest Policies, Adivasis and Exclusion

   overview

   Examined as a single unit within Environment and Society — no further topic split in the official outline.

6. 6

   Ecological Degradation and Migration

   overview

   Examined as a single unit within Environment and Society — no further topic split in the official outline.

7. 7

   Development, Displacement and Rehabilitation

   overview

   Examined as a single unit within Environment and Society — no further topic split in the official outline.

8. 8

   Water and Social Exclusion

   overview

   Examined as a single unit within Environment and Society — no further topic split in the official outline.

9. 9

   Disasters and Community Responses

   overview

   Examined as a single unit within Environment and Society — no further topic split in the official outline.

10. 10

    Environmental Pollution, Public Health and Disability

    overview

    Examined as a single unit within Environment and Society — no further topic split in the official outline.

11. 11

    Climate Change and International Policies

    overview

    Examined as a single unit within Environment and Society — no further topic split in the official outline.

12. 12

    Environmental Movements

    overview

    Examined as a single unit within Environment and Society — no further topic split in the official outline.

Environment and Society flashcards for UGC NET Sociology

25 of 50 cards from the Environment and Society deck — real questions with worked answers.

1. What is environmental sociology?

   The sociological study of the reciprocal interactions between human societies and their physical/natural environment, including how social structures shape, and are shaped by, ecological conditions.

2. Who coined the term 'environmental sociology' and helped found it as a distinct subfield?

   Riley Dunlap and William Catton Jr. (1970s), who formally distinguished it as a subfield of sociology.

3. What is the Human Exemptionalism Paradigm (HEP) critiqued by environmental sociologists?

   The belief that humans are exempt from ecological constraints due to culture, technology and reason, treating the environment as irrelevant to social analysis.

4. What is the New Ecological Paradigm (NEP) proposed by Catton and Dunlap?

   A worldview asserting that humans are one species among many, embedded in and dependent on a finite biophysical environment subject to ecological limits.

5. Define 'environmentalism' as a social phenomenon.

   A diverse social and political movement and ideology concerned with protecting the environment and promoting sustainable relationships between society and nature.

6. What are the broad 'diverse forms' of environmentalism identified by Ramachandra Guha and Joan Martinez-Alier?

   Three varieties: the cult of wilderness, the gospel of eco-efficiency, and the environmentalism of the poor (livelihood/environmental justice).

7. What is the 'cult of wilderness' form of environmentalism?

   A preservationist strand focused on protecting pristine nature, wild species and untouched landscapes, often associated with the affluent global North.

8. What is the 'gospel of eco-efficiency' form of environmentalism?

   A managerial/technocratic strand emphasizing efficient use of resources, sustainable development, pollution control and 'wise use' through experts and markets.

9. What is the 'environmentalism of the poor'?

   A form of environmental concern arising from marginalized communities defending their material livelihoods and resource access against degradation, linking ecology with social justice.

10. Who developed the concept of 'environmentalism of the poor' most prominently?

    Ramachandra Guha and Joan Martinez-Alier (and earlier articulated through Indian movements).

11. What is 'deep ecology'?

    A radical environmental philosophy (coined by Arne Naess) that attributes intrinsic value to all living beings and rejects human-centered (anthropocentric) views of nature.

12. What is 'shallow ecology' as contrasted by Arne Naess?

    An anthropocentric, reformist environmentalism concerned mainly with pollution and resource depletion as they affect human welfare in developed countries.

13. What is 'social ecology' and who founded it?

    A theory founded by Murray Bookchin arguing that ecological problems stem from social hierarchies and domination among humans, which must be dismantled to heal nature.

14. What is 'ecofeminism'?

    A perspective linking the domination of nature with the domination of women under patriarchy, arguing both arise from the same hierarchical logic.

15. Who is the leading Indian ecofeminist thinker and what is her key idea?

    Vandana Shiva, who argues that Western patriarchal 'maldevelopment' destroys both nature and women's subsistence knowledge; she champions biodiversity and 'feminine principle' (Prakriti).

16. What is the 'Chipko movement' and where did it originate?

    A 1973 Himalayan (Uttarakhand/Garhwal) forest-protection movement where villagers, especially women, hugged trees to prevent commercial felling; a key example of environmentalism of the poor.

17. Name two prominent leaders associated with the Chipko movement.

    Sunderlal Bahuguna and Chandi Prasad Bhatt (with significant women's participation, e.g., Gaura Devi).

18. What is the Narmada Bachao Andolan (NBA)?

    A movement led by Medha Patkar against large dams on the Narmada (notably Sardar Sarovar), opposing displacement of tribals and farmers and demanding rehabilitation.

19. What is the Appiko movement?

    A 1983 forest-conservation movement in Karnataka's Western Ghats inspired by Chipko, where people embraced trees to stop felling ('appiko' means 'to hug' in Kannada).

20. What is the Silent Valley movement?

    A 1970s-80s Kerala movement that successfully halted a hydroelectric project to protect the biodiverse Silent Valley rainforest.

21. What does 'sustainable development' mean per the Brundtland Report (1987)?

    Development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.

22. What was the Brundtland Commission and its key report?

    The World Commission on Environment and Development (1987), which produced 'Our Common Future', popularizing sustainable development.

23. What is the 'tragedy of the commons' and who described it?

    Garrett Hardin's (1968) idea that individuals acting in self-interest overexploit shared resources, leading to their collective ruin.

24. What is the 'treadmill of production' theory and who proposed it?

    Allan Schnaiberg's theory that capitalism's inherent drive for expansion and profit causes ever-increasing resource extraction and environmental degradation.

25. What is the 'risk society' and who theorized it?

    Ulrich Beck's concept that modern industrial societies generate manufactured, often invisible, global risks (pollution, nuclear, climate) that transcend class and borders.

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