Honors College 499AB - A Sacred Earth-Ancient Thought

This course is a critical, interdisciplinary examination of recent responses to climate change and environmental crisis that seek to recognize or recover the sacredness of the earth (including the "more-than-human-world") as a strategy for survival in the Anthropocene. We will engage with ancient philosophy, world religions, indigenous scholarship, ecofeminism, climate activism, spirituality, and the "new animism' in the humanities and social sciences. We will consider Max Weber's disenchantment thesis (and modern re-enchantments), the dynamics of sacralization, the idea of "nature," ecology and social justice, relational ethics, and the environmental humanities. Research manuscript and creative portfolio projects may relate to any aspect of the course. Depending on your interest, you might focus on race, gender, inequality, colonialism, public policy, health, economics, business, science, religion, philosophy, public history, or culture and the arts including case studies on historical or contemporary responses to climate change and environmental crisis that envision a sacred earth as a strategy for global sustainability and survival.

Instructor consent is required. Students should contact Prof. Mark Roblee (mroblee@umass.edu) if interested in enrolling.