Welcome to the Anthropocene. An introduction to the Environmental Humanities

Course goals

Upon successful completion of the course, students will:

• Have substantial knowledge and insights into a range of Humanities perspectives on environmental issues including sustainability, environmental justice, inclusion and just transitions.
• Have gained familiarity with relevant theories and concepts in Environmental Humanities, including the re-conceptualization of relations between ‘humans’ and ‘nature’.
• Have practiced collaborating and cooperating across disciplinary boundaries with their peers and developed a case study combining adequate research methods.
• Have practiced processing the obtained knowledge and insights about the course topics by means of an (individual) writing assignment and a group presentation of a small research project.

Content

What does it mean to be human in a time of global environmental crisis? How are political, social and economic structures intertwined with the ecological realities of the Anthropocene? How do our conceptions of the human, of nature, and of the environment need to change in response to our current situation? How can media, culture and the arts foster environmental awareness and promote systemic change? And what can the Humanities contribute to sustainable and fair transitions?

This Introduction to Environmental Humanities addresses such pressing questions from different disciplinary perspectives within the Humanities and beyond. We will explore new understandings of major environmental crises and the related historical, social, political, and cultural challenges. The course is organized around a series of "object lessons" emphasizing salient materials pertaining to the environment and to climate breakdown, such as water, oil, soil, plastic, and so on. These materials will be explored from a variety of disciplinary perspectives, emphasizing their historical, cultural, political, and philosophical dimensions. These disciplinary perspectives will include questions of
history, ethics, narration, representation and imagination within an interdisciplinary, engagement oriented course design. Beyond lectures and discussions of foundational theoretical texts in Environmental Humanities, students will engage with questions of sustainability, planetary justice, and fair transitions in small research projects that explore the contribution of Humanities perspectives to understand environmental issues and imagine fundamental solutions beyond technological fixes.
 

Additional information

This course is designed to introduce the minor in Environmental Humanities, which consists of an interdisciplinary suite of courses that can be taken in sequence in blocks 1, 2, 3 and 4 within a single year, or staggered over multiple years. Students from all disciplinary backgrounds are welcome in the Environmental Humanities minor; anyone considering enrolling is encouraged to contact the coordinator with any questions (f.j.h.c.roberts@uu.nl). While the syllabus is updated year to year, interested students may find it helpful to view previous versions of the syllabus, which are available via the coordinator's staff page, under teaching.