Justicia ambiental: Análisis crítico del discurso en los trabajos de grado de cuatro programas de maestría en ambiente y desarrollo, Bogotá, 2018- 2023

Abstract

This study aimed to analyze environmental justice discourses in master’s theses from four graduate programs in Bogotá related to environment and development. To this end, three theoretical frameworks of environmental justice were employed—Joan Martínez Alier (2004, 2008, 2015), Andrew Dobson (1998, 2015), and Raúl Brañes (2000)—which guided the analysis of the data. In addition, theoretical contributions by Enrique Leff (2004) on political epistemology and Arturo Escobar (2007) on development discourse supported the discussion of the findings. Critical discourse analysis was adopted as the methodological approach, following Siegfried Jäger (2003), who conceptualizes discourses as frameworks that shape understanding and determine subjects’ actions within society. A categorization matrix, based on the first three theoretical frameworks, was used as the main analytical instrument. The analysis and categorization process revealed that between 2018 and 2023 a total of 359 master’s theses were produced, of which only 46 exhibit environmental justice discourses. It also showed that the most frequently used categories are environmental conflicts, communities and social organizations, the political dimension, and structures of inequality. Likewise, the dominant discourse corresponds to critical environmental justice, grounded in the contributions of Martínez Alier. Finally, the study proposes that environmental justice constitutes an epistemological and political strategy with the potential to challenge development discourse and capitalism across seven dimensions. It also suggests that processes of appropriation within academia—as a device of power—can be fostered, for which research-oriented education and research lines are key tools, as they enable the construction of knowledge grounded in the interests of historically excluded social groups.