Published online by Cambridge University Press: 23 June 2015
In this paper we examine the tension between the development of an holistic understanding of the diverse relations linking people and environments and the dominant, technocratic orientation of tertiary environmental studies programs. Different ideologies of environmentalism are seen to be reflected in specific modes of research, education and social practice. We describe how the Graduate School of Environmental Science at Monash University has worked with these tensions. We have sought in the GSES to incorporate a more interdisciplinary, critical environmentalism that may promote a movement towards a more sustainable, equitable and enriching society.