Courses / Module

“We have forgotten that we ourselves are dust of the earth; our very bodies are made of her elements, we breathe her air and we receive life and refreshment from her waters” (Pope Benedict, On Care for Our Common Home).

There are few aspects of modernity more striking and significant than the changes that people have made to the physical and biotic environment. These are so significant that many natural and social scientists refer to a new geological age, the Anthropocene, a period in which the primary drivers of environmental change are human actions rather than just natural processes. This recognition requires conceptualising and understanding how social and physical processes interact in a complex world. Citizens needs to be informed about environmental science, planetary boundaries and safe operating spaces for humanity while at the same time understanding the economic and political, social and cultural drivers and dilemmas of this global order. The requirement for interdisciplinary understanding requires both novelty and urgency in meaningful planetary stewardship. This course will give students a critical introduction to some of the profound responsibilities of modern citizenship in the Anthropocene.

Module Structure: This elective stream is run over two modules. In semester one (GY260) we will establish the dilemma of global change. We introduce the idea of planetary boundaries: the limits to the change people can impose upon key systems before the Earth System shifts to a state much less hospitable to humankind. We will examine the current state of four parts of our common home: climate, freshwater, biodiversity and land use. We also introduce the idea of the Anthropocene. Are ‘humans’ really a geological force? When did humans start altering the environment at a global scale? These questions help guide us into debates over the underlying causes and drivers of global environmental change – overpopulation? human nature? capitalism? or perhaps the very idea of human exceptionalism specific to Western culture? In the second semester, module two (GY261) will explore in more detail contemporary societal responses to global environmental change. We will ask what changes are needed so that we might live in a sustainable, just and equitable Anthropocene.

Format: This module will be delivered through weekly lectures.