Environmental issues are among the most urgent, complex and pervasive issues we face, and they are often radically bound up with concerns that are ethical in nature. This combination has given rise to a growing body of difficult questions such as: What is the value of wilderness versus oil or jobs? Do animals have rights? Do the highly developed nations have different obligations with respect to global warming and the loss of species than the lesser developed nations? Can we frame these questions and considerations in a way that does not unfairly privilege our own perspective? Philosophers in the western tradition have only recently begun to search for coherent theoretical frameworks within which to address these questions; their attempts constitute the field known as environmental ethics. In this course we will look at several of the leading approaches in this field, particularly as they bear on our relationship to animals, social justice, and wilderness preservation. We will also read select literary works for the light they throw on these topics. Authors will include Tom Regan, Peter Singer, Bernard Williams, J.M. Coetzee, Cora Diamond, Mark Sagoff, Carolyn Merchant, and Barbara Kingsolver. Format: lecture/discussion. Requirements: several short papers, presentation/public-service project, final exam. No prerequisites. Enrollment limit: 19 (expected 5-15). Preference given to sophomores and first-year students.