Unit name | Geographies of the Anthropocene |
---|---|
Unit code | GEOG30012 |
Credit points | 20 |
Level of study | H/6 |
Teaching block(s) |
Teaching Block 2 (weeks 13 - 24) |
Unit director | Dr. Franklin Ginn |
Open unit status | Not open |
Pre-requisites |
There are no pre-requisites. Students will find completion of More-than-Human Geographies GEOG-20001 useful. |
Co-requisites |
Available to year-three Geography and year- four Geography with Study Aboard/Continental Europe students only. |
School/department | School of Geographical Sciences |
Faculty | Faculty of Science |
We live on a planet profoundly altered by human activities. From mass extinction, to the transformation of land for agriculture, to climate change and the extraction of fossil fuels, to rising inequality, the Anthropocene names our current geological epoch – the age of humans. This course will introduce the concept of the Anthropocene, outlining its scientific and cultural origins, and explore current debates over its provenance and implications by examining competing planetary perspectives. These include the Capitalocene – based in eco-Marxist approaches – and the Chthulucene, based in posthumanism. The second part of the course is organised around key problematics of the Anthropocene: viral pandemics; novel forms of conservation; responding to extinction; apocalypse; visions of human life beyond Earth; fossil fuels and geopower. Each session is split between critical analysis and studies of ethical or political intervention. Sessions are split between lectures and more interactive activities.
Unit aims:
By the end of the unit, students will have:
Classes consist of 10 x 2-hour sessions, each comprising a mix of lectures, small-group discussions and workshop activities. There are also three tutorials and a revision lecture.
One 2500 word essay (40%).
Two 1500-word take-home exam essays, each worth 30% of the unit mark. There will be a choice of 2 questions from 6.
All assessments assess all of the ILOs.
Required, further and advanced readings will be set for each week. There is no course textbook. The following two special issues in geography journals provide useful insights into the course:
Futures: Imagining Socioecological Transformation, Annals of the Association of American Geographers, Volume 105, Issue 2, 239-436, 2015.
Geographies of the Anthropocene, Geographical Research, Volume 53, Issue 3, 231-320, 2015.