Mauricio Betancourt

Mauricio Betancourt

Environmental Sociologist, Ph.D.

Teaching

Introduction to Environmental Studies (ENV 110)

Undergraduate Course, W&L, Environmental Studies, 2023

The aim of this course is that students learn about the interactions between humans and the environment. This will involve issues from a diversity of disciplines including anthropology, biology, economics, geography, history, and sociology. We explore how human societies affect the environment, and, in turn, how they are shaped by it. Students learn to recognize, understand, and discuss the basic ecological structure and dynamics of the Earth and its ecosystems; the cultural, ecological, and economic bases for ecosystem value; the role of stakeholders in shaping the causes, consequences, and solutions to environmental problems; and the essential background of environmental issues and their potential solutions. In addition, they learn how to apply perspectives from the natural and social sciences and the humanities in analyzing environmental issues, present concise summaries of environmental issues based on evidence, utilize reliable literature to support their arguments, and draw solid conclusions supported by evidence. The course is also intended to help students develop their analytical thinking, writing, research, and communication skills. You can find the class syllabus here.

The Commodification of Nature (ENV 295)

Undergraduate Course, W&L, Environmental Studies, 2023

This course studies the nature-society relationship in the colonial and modern world by analyzing the history of instrumental raw materials that have been commodified as part of the development of capitalism. Drawing on dependency, unequal exchange, and world-systems theories, we examine commodity chains and trade relations between the Global North and the Global South, with an emphasis on ecological and social issues. We also analyze environmental justice topics related to these episodes, as well as possible paths to transcend the asymmetric cross-national power relations characterizing the modern world. The course is also intended to help students develop their analytical thinking, writing, research, and communication skills. You can find the class syllabus here.

Empires and World Inequality (SOCI 464)

Undergraduate Course, Oberlin College, Sociology, 2023

In this course students learn why some countries are deemed as “developed,” “advanced,” “industrialized,” or “affluent,” while others are labeled as “underdeveloped,” “backward,” “agrarian,” or “poor,” as well as how this state of affairs came about. We study key theories that examine why some countries are rich and others are not, as well as several historical and current case studies of how raw materials were commodified and traded from the Global South into the Global North. We also analyze the ecological degradation and human exploitation common to these episodes, as well as possible paths to transcend the asymmetric cross-national power relations characterizing the modern world. This course is Writing Advanced (“W-Adv”) as it actively addresses the writing process through peer-reviewed and Instructor revision and feedback. You can find the class syllabus here.

Sociology of the Global South (SOCI 364)

Undergraduate Course, Oberlin College, Sociology, 2023

In this course students learn about the discipline of Sociology in the Global South, with a special emphasis on Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC). We examine the works of several influential scholars, political figures, and activists, all emanating from and situated in LAC, Africa, or Asia. We study topics such as ecology, power, dependency, world-systems, unequal exchange, decolonization, liberation pedagogies, class, race, gender, feminism, food sovereignty, indigenous social movements, and revolutions. By the end of this class, students are familiar with the key discussions in Sociology, other social sciences, and the social movements that have arisen in the Global South vis-à-vis decolonization and environmental justice. This class grants Cultural Diversity because of its focus on cultures outside the United States. You can find the class syllabus here.

Environmental Sociology: Nature, Society, and the Anthropocene (SOCI 284)

Undergraduate Course, Oberlin College, Sociology, 2022

The aim of this course is to analyze the interrelation between communities, the environment, and society, with an emphasis on the ecological and socioeconomic crises in the Anthropocene. The central theme is to explore how to create a just and sustainable society. The course will serve as an introduction to the broad range of issues addressed in environmental sociology as a field. A specific focus will be given to interconnections between current lived lifestyles (e.g. the city/country divide, cars and cities, and production and consumerism) and questions of environmental justice and sustainability. You can find the syllabus of this class here.

Introduction to Sociology: Social Behavior and Structural Inequality (SOCI 165)

Undergraduate Course, Oberlin College, Sociology, 2022

In this course students learn about the discipline of sociology, including its historical development, its main theories and methods, and its range of topics. We also study how sociologists develop theories, formulate research questions, and collect and analyze data to understand how humans behave in various contexts, as well as how societies change over time. We examine topics such as social interactions, culture, ecology, power, globalization, race, gender, sexuality, inequality, crime, social movements, and revolutions. You can find the class syllabus here.

Community, Environment, and Society (SOC 304)

Undergraduate Course, University of Oregon, Sociology, 2020

The aim of this course is to analyze the interrelation between communities, the environment, and society, with an emphasis on the ecological and socioeconomic crises in the Anthropocene. The central theme is how to create a just and sustainable society as well as how to develop a rational relationship with the rest of nature in today’s world. You can find the syllabus of the class here.

History and Philosophy of Biology

Undergraduate Course, National Autonomous University of Mexico, School of Sciences, 2015

Taught in 2015 and 2016, this introductory course provides an overview of philosophy of science (Plato, Descartes, Hume, Kant, Hegel, Popper, Kuhn, Lakatos), as well as of the history of biology, with an emphasis on evolutionary theory (Linnaeus, Buffon, Geoffroy, Cuvier, Lamarck, Lyell, Wallace, Darwin, Mendel, and the Modern Synthesis). Here is a syllabus of the class (in Spanish).

Research and Pre-University Texts

High School Course, INHUMYC, 2015

Taught in 2015 and 2016, this course introduces students to five selected topics: academic writing, biological evolution, the origin and diversity of plants and animals, biochemistry and biotechnology, and conservation biology. You can find the syllabus of the class here (in Spanish).