Environmental Studies 321PC - Conference Courses in Environmental Studies: 'Petrocultures and Energy Humanities'

Contemporary life is profoundly shaped by fossil fuels, from the infrastructures that sustain daily routines to the cultural values that define progress. Yet this dependence often coexists with an "energy unconscious" in the U.S. cultural imagination. This course introduces the field of energy humanities, focusing on petroculture: i.e, how petroleum structures social, political, and cultural life. Through literature, film, art, and theory, we will examine the global entanglements of energy, environment, and power, addressing questions of climate change, resource dependence, and transition while developing critical tools to imagine more just and sustainable futures.