Liquid Sociology – A Preliminary Pedagogy for the Sociology of Water and Sanitation

• In Event: 3423 - Teaching and Learning Symposium Roundtable
  In Informal Discussion Roundtable: Table 7: Teaching the Sociology of Environment and Health

Abstract

Water--vital for life, health, and well-being--is becoming increasingly contested in modern society. Water has become a subject matter through which social issues of knowledge/power, race, gender, and inequalities are playing out. We propose a pedagogy for teaching the sociology of water, through use of readings, activities and assignments. Our main learning objective is to understand water as sociological in its use, application, and, ultimately, construction. In other words, our first objective is to help students understand how social processes contribute to how society uses water. Our second objective is to help students understand the politics of who has access to water and who does not. Our third objective is to help students understand the norms and values around how water is used and treated as well as the technologies employed to transform water for consumption. We propose three broad themes for exploring water: (1) Euro-centric and non-Euro-centric ways of understanding water: this includes examinations of literature on the sociology of knowledge, science and technology studies, and colonialism(s); (2) Power and Justice: here we explore questions of water access from the household to the world systems level, questions of environmental justice, and of power – who makes decisions about water extraction and distribution and who has access to those decisions; (3) Intersectionality: how the critical analytical frameworks around sex and gender, as well as race and class interact with questions of water and sanitation access, use, and management, around use and management of lakes, rivers, and oceans, and around the political, ritual, and techno-scientific conceptions of water. We will discuss not only the materials (readings and films) to engage students, but also activities and assignments to help focus students on understanding water as not just a biophysical and technical resource, but also as deeply connected to social constructions and processes.

Authors

• Devparna Roy, Nazareth College of Rochester

• Stephen Philip Gasteyer, Michigan State University