Humanities Arts Cultural Stu 0277 - Planet on Fire: Reimagining the Future of the World

The desire to save our planet from imminent destruction is shared by growing numbers of people all over the world. Yet debates about climate change, environmental disaster, mass extinction, and possible solutions to them continue to be framed by discourses that have their roots in capitalist, imperialist, and patriarchal worldviews. This course examines critical and creative approaches to sustainability and extinction that challenge us to go beyond these frames. Through readings in philosophy, literature, art, environmental humanities, and social science, we will look at histories, thought systems, and imagined worlds that teach us to understand the past, present, and future of the planet differently and that offer radical new possibilities for imagining what Anna Tsing calls "the promise of cohabitation," or life on earth. Topics to include ecofeminism, queer ecologies, and global indigeneity; climate apartheid, resource wars, and the climate refugee; regenerative agriculture, food justice, and sustainability in prisons.

Environments and Change This course includes both in-person and remote elements, but can accommodate fully remote students. Students in this course can expect to spend 6 to 8 hours weekly on work and preparation outside of class time.