814.009 (19S) The Anthropocene: alternative narratives and politics

Sommersemester 2019

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First course session
22.05.2019 13:00 - 18:00 Schottenfeldgasse 29, SR 3a Off Campus
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Overview

Lecturer
Course title german The Anthropocene: alternative narratives and politics
Type Seminar (continuous assessment course )
Hours per Week 1.0
ECTS credits 2.0
Registrations 22 (15 max.)
Organisational unit
Language of instruction English
Course begins on 22.05.2019
eLearning Go to Moodle course

Time and place

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Course Information

Teaching methodology including the use of eLearning tools

The module starts with an introductory session in which students and the instructor will introduce themselves and lay out their respective expectations from this module. This will be followed by a lecture (research seminar) that will offer a critical appraisal of the official discourse on climate change and politics as put forward in most recent UN and IPCC sources, arguing that this represents a de-politicized vision of the ecological crisis, and pointing towards the silences and exclusions on which it is based. The second day will open with the projection of an award-winning documentary film that offers a vey different picture of the ecological crisis, thus introducing the perspectives of feminist political ecology and global environmental justice. The third day will conclude with group work based on a discussion of case studies drawn from the Environmental Justice Atlas. Each session will feature the collective discussion of pre-circulated texts (6 in total) related to three main topics: 1) the Anthropocene in Environmental History and Environmental Social Science 2) the ecofeminist critique of the Anthropocene; 3) the environmental justice critique of the Anthropocene.

Course content

This module intersects Environmental History and Political Ecology approaches towards a critical analysis of the Anthropocene discourse, which is gaining momentum as the dominant narrative of climate and earth-system change in the last two centuries.

Students are expected to complete all readings and come to class with brief notes to share with the group; they are invited to connect the texts with their own research and/or social/professional commitments. Assessment will be based on students’ active participation in text discussions. Students who might prefer to be assessed on the basis of a written essay can do so by making previous arrangements with the instructor. The essay should consist in a 3000 words report/commentary article on a topic strictly related to the module’s programme.

Examination information

Im Fall von online durchgeführten Prüfungen sind die Standards zu beachten, die die technischen Geräte der Studierenden erfüllen müssen, um an diesen Prüfungen teilnehmen zu können.

Examination methodology

Assessment will be based on students’ active participation in text discussions. Students who might prefer to be assessed on the basis of a written essay can do so by making previous arrangements with the instructor.

Examination topic(s)

The essay should consist in a 3000 words report/commentary article on a topic strictly related to the module’s programme.

Assessment criteria / Standards of assessment for examinations

participating in the discussions, reading of the texts, presence all three days.

Grading scheme

Grade / Grade grading scheme

Position in the curriculum

  • Thematic Doctoral Programme Doctoral School Social Ecology (DSSE) (SKZ: ---, Version: 16W.1)
    • Subject: Doctoral School Social Ecology (DSSE) (Compulsory subject)
      • Doctoral School Social Ecology (DSSE) ( 0.0h XX / 0.0 ECTS)
        • 814.009 The Anthropocene: alternative narratives and politics (1.0h SE / 2.0 ECTS)
  • Master's degree programme Social and Human Ecology (SKZ: 919, Version: 14W.1)
    • Subject: GWF1 Gesellschaft und Umwelt (Compulsory elective)
      • GWF1 Vertiefung ( 0.0h VO, SE, EX, KU, SX / 14.0 ECTS)
        • 814.009 The Anthropocene: alternative narratives and politics (1.0h SE / 2.0 ECTS)
  • Master's degree programme Social and Human Ecology (SKZ: 919, Version: 14W.1)
    • Subject: GWF4 Umweltgeschichte (Compulsory elective)
      • GWF4 Vertiefung ( 0.0h VO, SE, EX, KU, SX / 14.0 ECTS)
        • 814.009 The Anthropocene: alternative narratives and politics (1.0h SE / 2.0 ECTS)

Equivalent courses for counting the examination attempts

This course is not assigned to a sequence of equivalent courses