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Introducing the Conflicting Meanings of “Justice” Using a Candy-Distribution Exercise

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Abstract

Environmental justice (EJ), as both a body of scholarship and social movement, is concerned with the intersections of social justice and environmental issues. The goal of the learning activity described in this chapter is to challenge such views and introduce EJ by asking students to critically examine what a “fair” or “just” situation is through an activity in which students distribute resources (candy and hypothetical parks) and hazards (hypothetical industrial sites) among their classmates and then discuss both the outcomes and their decision-making processes. Ultimately, the exercise will demonstrate that “justice” is not a straightforward concept and that decisions that seem just for one person or group might be unjust for another. After completing this activity, students should be able to (1) compare and contrast different ideas of justice, (2) apply ideas of justice to environmental controversies, and (3) develop their own personal definition of justice in the context of environmental issues.

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Correspondence to Kate J. Darby .

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Darby, K.J. (2016). Introducing the Conflicting Meanings of “Justice” Using a Candy-Distribution Exercise. In: Byrne, L. (eds) Learner-Centered Teaching Activities for Environmental and Sustainability Studies. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-28543-6_27

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