SOCY 3322 Consumption, Health, and the Environment
There are many health and environmental impacts associated with consumption activities, yet such impacts often remain hidden or obscured in the course of everyday life. In this applied course, students will examine health and environmental issues associated with consumption activities. Over the course of the semester, students will learn concepts from environmental health, environmental sociology, the sociology of consumption, and public policy. Each student will engage in an original preliminary research project on a contemporary issue related to consumption and environmental health. Students will develop an understanding of the power dynamics and inequalities associated with identifying, defining, managing, and mitigating the health and environmental impacts of consumption activities. Skills, perspectives, and analytic frameworks learned in this course will be useful for students in their roles as individual consumers, citizens, and professionals.
Course overview
- Department
- Sociology
- School
- MCAS
- Credits
- 3
- Level
- Undergraduate
- Offered
- Every Fall
Requirements fulfilled
- Environmental Studies: Concentration — Environmental Entrepreneurship: One Sociology Course (Current University Catalog; students should confirm their catalog year)
- Environmental Studies: Concentration — Environmental Health: One Social Science Course (Current University Catalog; students should confirm their catalog year)
- Applied Psychology and Human Development: Major electives — any Psychology (PSYC) or Sociology (SOCY) course (no more than two electives from outside LSEHD) (Current University Catalog; students should confirm their catalog year)
- Sociology: Sociology electives (18 credits, generally six courses) (Current University Catalog; students should confirm their catalog year)
- Sociology: Upper-level Sociology electives (at least 9 of the 18 elective credits must be SOCY3000 or higher) (Current University Catalog; students should confirm their catalog year)
Course evaluations
- Course rating
- 3.51 / 5 · Very Good
- Instructor rating
- 3.59 / 5 · Very Good
- Terms evaluated
- 8
| Term | Instructor | Course overall | Instructor overall | Well organized | Clear learning objectives | Intellectually challenging | Helpful assignments | Applicable beyond course | Attendance necessary | Weekly effort | Responses |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Spring 2026 | Monique Ouimette | 3.7 | 3.5 | 4.1 | 4.0 | 4.2 | 4.4 | 4.4 | 4.9 | — | 11 of 17 |
| Spring 2025 | Monique Ouimette | 3.8 | 3.8 | 3.9 | 4.1 | 4.4 | 4.4 | 4.5 | 4.8 | 1–3 hrs/week | 12 of 15 |
| Fall 2024 | Monique Ouimette | 3.1 | 3.1 | 4.1 | 4.1 | 4.5 | 3.8 | 4.2 | 4.5 | 4–6 hrs/week | 15 of 16 |
| Spring 2024 | Monique Ouimette | 3.7 | 3.8 | 4.4 | 4.3 | 4.1 | 4.1 | 4.6 | 4.4 | 1–3 hrs/week | 15 of 18 |
| Fall 2023 | Monique Ouimette | 3.3 | 3.6 | 4.3 | 4.1 | 3.8 | 3.9 | 4.3 | 3.9 | 1–3 hrs/week | 12 of 17 |
| Fall 2022 | Monique Ouimette | 3.6 | 3.7 | 4.1 | 4.3 | 4.5 | 4.1 | 4.3 | 4.6 | 1–3 hrs/week | 14 of 18 |
| Spring 2022 | Monique Ouimette | 3.1 | 3.4 | 3.8 | 3.6 | 3.9 | 3.7 | 4.3 | 4.3 | 4–6 hrs/week | 10 of 19 |
| Fall 2021 | Monique Ouimette | 3.7 | 3.9 | 4.3 | 4.4 | 3.9 | 4.6 | 4.6 | 4.1 | 4–6 hrs/week | 11 of 18 |