Environment, Culture and Society

Environment, Culture and Society (ECS) comprises the disciplines of sociology, anthropology, archaeology, geography and environmental studies.

Sociology will invite you to use your sociological imagination, or to think how social norms entice us to act, react and interact in specific ways, according to our station in society and how and where we were brought up—it focuses on industrial society and modern times and also looks at global awareness of the highly interconnected world in the twenty-first century.

Anthropology and archaeology will show you the importance of culture in human life today and in the past, even the distant past; how human beings have come to make sense of their life together in community and have produced the tools for their life in common including language, religion, shared practices, cultural habits and actual physical artifacts, buildings, machines, and tools that transform and have transformed the human world.

Geography will invite you to explore the interconnectedness between the human and physical sciences; how Earth’s features, plants, animals, resources, peoples, societies, power dynamics, etc. have come into being, changed through time and come to exist where we find them today. Environmental studies will introduce you to the complex interrelation between people and the environment through multidisciplinary lenses to address contemporary environmental issues, such as the climate crisis, food and water security, energy dependence, and environmental justice.

Together the disciplines within the department examine land, space, place and how humans make sense of their surroundings, their relationships, stories, and cultural creations throughout time and in the present. They examine environment, culture, and society. In ECS, we offer exciting programs and a diverse and dynamic group of faculty that will teach and guide you through your university studies.