Calls for public participation in, and indeed the democratisation of, decision-making have become a hallmark of contemporary environmental politics, policy, and practice. Many contemporary environmental issues are characterised by institutional commitments to fostering public engagement and participation in decision-making together with greater transparency in the deployment of scientific and policy expertise. However, despite notable successes, such developments often fail to enhance public trust and build more socially responsive and responsible forms of environmental policy and regulation. Outside these institutionally sanctioned spaces of formal consultation, new public collectives function to create spaces of participation that are resistant to processes of political closure and public capture. These insurgent formations call into question normative commitments to institutional accountability and transparency, while also enacting novel participatory collectives situated across a multitude of socio-political sites. While an array of environmental knowledges – both progressive and reactionary – jostle for recognition and political prominence, in this course you will explore ways in which the work of assembling diverse publics capable of testifying to the violence of environmental disruption, and of crafting resilient and emancipatory futures, is indicative of the enduring compulsion toward participation in environmental issues. You will consider these issues through engagement with environmental participation theory and practice, and through direct engagement of a range of real-world examples. You will examine how the right to participate in environmental issues that affect you – codified in the Rio Declaration – raises profound questions concerning contemporary democracy, representation, expertise, and activism. You will develop your own advocacy skills and practical skills for designing and coordinating community participation and engagement initiatives.
