Lecturer(s)

Joris Buis

Entry requirements 

Second and Third year bachelor students participating in an honours programme

Class contents

Upon completion of the course you are able to:

1. Show insight into basic biological definitions of species (plants, animals, micro-organisms, etc.) and the dynamics of speciation and extinction. I

2. Show understanding of the scale of extinctions in historical perspective. Specifically, you have insight into:

- palaeogeological knowledge. Including the rate of extinction, in current and past extinctions

- drivers behind the current mass extinction a changing public perception on extinctions during the last few centuries

3. Show basic insights into the psychology and sociology surrounding extinctions.

4. Identify what the economical drivers and consequences of extinction are

5. Formulate your own position in  ethical (and other philosophical) debates surrounding species protection and preservation. Critically evaluate normative debates about extinction, and distinguish different values ascribed to species (moral, esthetical, utilitarian, financial, psychological, social, etc.).

6. Generally describe potential measures to counter the current mass extinction events, by governments, ngo’s (WNF, IUCN, etc.) and private parties (companies, philanthropists, etc.). Furthermore you show awareness of modern practices and methods (and can give a funded opinion on their sense or nonsense) surrounding ‘de-extinction’: the recreation of extinct species by scientists.

7. Show relations between the methods and concepts used in the different scientific disciplines and those used in their own field of study.

Programme information

Extinction is rule. Survival is exception

This phrase uttered by Carl Sagen is meant to illustrate the ruthlessness of nature over geological time frames of millions of years. Probably more than 99% of all species that have ever lived are now extinct. Species have naturally gone extinct for many reasons. There can be a catastrophe, for example a meteorite. Or an island with formally no predators, suddenly is invaded by for example a snake species, which  is upon its arrival able to exterminate several bird species by eating all the eggs. Or one species slowly deviates into two new species that each develop new traits over generations, leaving the former species extinct. Such as most likely happened with the common ancestor of chimpanzees and humans.

If extinctions have been rule in the past, extinctions are certainly a rule today. With extinction rates exceeding 100 times the baseline rates of non-human eras, as deduced by palaeontologists from fossil records, we can assure ourselves that humans play a major role in today’s so called ‘6th mass extinction event’ (the 5th event meaning the end of all non-avian dinosaurs - and the rise of the mammals). Many drivers lay at the foundation of this current mass extinction event, including climate change, land-use change, poaching, and deliberate or accidental introduction of non-native species into fragile environments.

We only recently have become aware of our own influence on the natural world. Many scholars of the 16th and 17th century (including Linnaeus) still held a firm believe that species were – in God’s creation -  a static and everlasting given, and populations could fluctuate but certainly not vanish. The big flightless bird the Dodo as one of the first iconic animals driven to extinction by humans in ‘the modern world’ during the 18th century, where after the possibility- and far reaching consequences - of human-induced extinction slowly began to sink in. Species can not only disappear, they do disappear and can be undone by humanity.

In case of extinction, what exactly is lost? What are the consequences of this loss? How does an ever increasing extinction rate affect ecosystems, and thus the very base of our own livelihoods? Can we substitute the functions that extinct species had? How does extinction affect the economy? How does it affect our psychology and worldview? Why are so many people emotionally attached to species? What can an extinction do to a culture? Do we as a dominant species have the moral obligation to protect - or even bring back from extinction - other species? What is the intrinsic value of a species. What are current strategies to counter extinction? And finally, are we ourselves doomed to go extinct?...and what to think about that?

To these and other questions, we direct our attention during the course.

Note: This course is explicitly designed for students from different backgrounds. That means that it will offer a rewarding learning experience for people from all different bachelor programs, ranging from ecology to philosophy and from mathematics to business. We hope to include you in our first group of students.

Schedule

The programme consists of a series of interactive lectures of 2 hours (including an introduction by the course lecturer, the guest lecture and 15-30 minutes for questions) given by experts from natural sciences, social sciences and humanities. The lectures might take place on locations outside the UvA.

Next to the lectures there will be several excursions and workshops meetings. During these the topics addressed during the lectures and in the literature will be discussed in more detail.

The series starts in February and continues till May, when we will have a final meeting with several researchers and the students. The lectures will be given in English.

The table below gives an indication of the program. Exact structure and dates might be subject to change

Week	Theme	Subject
1	Understanding Extinction	What is Extinction?
2		Historical Perspectives on extinction
3		The past & current extinction.
4		Human causes extinction
5	What are the effects of extinction?	The consequences of extinction
6		The lost values (economical, ethical)
7		Effects on human psyche and society (psychological, social)
8		Presentation of students about extinct species
		Excursion to Naturalis
9	Countering extinction?	Interventions: what do we do againtst extinction?
10		frontline 1: Environmental NGO
11		frontline 2: high tech/ de-extinction
12	After Armagedon: post mankind scenarios	Post-mankind scenarios

You can find the timetable on  https://datanose.nl/#course[61906]

Registration

Registration is possible from 7 December 2017  10.00h till 11 December 2017 23.00h for students participating in an Honours programme via the online registration form on http://iis.uva.nl/en/interdisciplinary-education/honours-modules/honours-modules.html.

Placement will be at random. If there are still spots open after the application deadline, students will still be able to register.

Study materials

The students will read parts of the book “the Sixth Extinction” well as additional articles and chapters from other books per lecture. The literature will be available in a digital reader, and – for a fee – on paper

Min/max participants

Max. 23

Assessment and testing

1. Weekly assignments (essay questions)
2. Final essay/ paper