Middlebury

IEPG 9502

Living in Age of Anthropocene

What does it mean to be living at a time when human activities have impacted the environment enough to constitute a distinct geological change? Using a systems-thinking approach, this course will examine the intersection of environmental science, policy, and resiliency. We will critically assess the planetary boundaries that make Earth habitable, where we have transgressed those boundaries, and examine points of intervention. A key facet of this course will be rooted in the tenet that we are not apart from nature; we are a part of nature. Many of the problems that we currently face in terms of sustainability and the environment lie at the juncture of nature and culture and are driven by separation and division. Throughout the semester, we will seek to bridge this disconnection with an emphasis on interconnectedness through place-based experiential learning, as well as resiliency efforts on both the global and local level. We will read such texts as Sherri Mitchell's Sacred Instructions, Clare Leslie’s The Curious Nature Guide, and Katherine Hayhoe's Saving Us, as well as excerpts from All We Can Save, edited by Johnson and Wilkerson, and Rising: Dispatches from the New American Shore, by Elizabeth Rush. AMR
Subject:
Intl Environmental Policy
Department:
Intl Environmental Policy
Division:
Intl Policy & Management
Requirements Fulfilled:

Sections in Spring 2023 - MIIS, MIIS Workshop

Spring 2023 - MIIS

IEPG9502A-S23 Lecture (Hanneman)