‘Never has it been more important to understand how the natural world works, and how to help it’
(David Attenborough)
In the recent nature documentary ‘Our Planet’ world-famous British naturalist Sir David Attenborough alarmingly declares: ‘Never has it been more important to understand how the natural world works, and how to help it.’ As our world becomes increasingly interdependent and fragile, we must look at ways to relate to complex environmental challenges such as climate change, loss of biodiversity and pollution at a grand scale. In order to understand these complex issues, people have often solely looked to natural scientists and engineers for guidance. But what if it is not enough to understand the inner workings of the natural world? Besides understanding how the world works we should also investigate how we view, talk and make sense of the world we inhabit.
Throughout history humans have made sense of the world surrounding them through manifold narratives. In this course we will examine various perspectives on human relations with nature. We will explore how nature was and is framed and represented in the past and today, and try to imagine alternative ones for the future.
This course discusses perspectives on nature from various disciplines (anthropology, philosophy, history, media studies, art, literature, heritage). Students will learn to appreciate the scope of complex environmental issues, finding a voice to express their own views on these matters in a sophisticated, creative manner whilst recognizing and appreciating valid perspectives that others may have. Furthermore it invites the students to transcend disciplinary boundaries and use creative media to develop a broader mind in approaches to study.
The course is aligned with the objectives of the Environmental Humanities Centre, CLUE+ and Sustainability Institute.
For more information and course details, go to 'Curriculum' at the top of the page.