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Honoursmodule: Nature ? in the Anthropocene

Lecturer(s)

 Sietze Norder

Entry requirements 

This course is accessible for 2nd and 3rd year honoursstudents.

Learning objectives:

By completing the course the student is able to:

  • Place recent human-environment interactions in the context of deep time.
  • Understand how global changes in the Anthropocene relate to human-nature relationships at the local scale.
  • Reflect on the different disciplinary perspectives towards, and interpretations of, the Anthropocene.
  • Reflect on the consequences of living in the Anthropocene, for our own attitude, worldview, and non-humans.

Content:

Human activities are now a major driver of changes in the Earth System. In recent years more and more scientists, as well as a broader public, are embracing the idea that humans have a defining impact on the planet (even so much that millions of years from now, traces of today’s activities may still be seen in geological records and rock formations). However, these recent global changes have deep historical roots: they are the aggregate outcome of local human-nature relationships that have evolved over much longer timescales. Furthermore, there exist large inequalities between human societies regarding the degree to which they contribute to, and are affected by global changes.

The Anthropocene as the new geological era presents us with an urgent and comprehensive inquiry into our limits and possibilities. That positioning brings great uncertainty and is accompanied by a search for what life, living systems and nature in this world mean and indeed what human culture means. An uncertainty that concerns both the future of the Earth as a living system as our own deeply personal position. May nature represent intrinsic values? If bio-emancipation is based on the equality of everything that lives on Earth and argues that nature has rights too, what does that mean for us personally, for our culture, and our dealings with nature? What does it mean to be fully human in all our actions? Is our identity complete without insight into our relationship to nature?

Teaching method

  • Lecture
  • Seminar
  • Fieldwork/Excursion
  • Presentation/Symposium
  • Selfstudy
  • Work independently on project/thesis
  • Guidance/Feedback moments

Assessment:

The assessment of this course consists of i) weekly individual assignments, ii) a personal reflection on the relationship between people and nature, and iii) an interdisciplinary group assignment about the Anthropocene.

Study material:

All literature and other study materials will be made available before and during the course.

Min/max participants:

max.25

Schedule:

The schedule will be available on Datanose soon.

The series will take place in the ARTIS Library, ARTIS Zoo, Science Park and Jungle Amsterdam-Oost. 

Registration:

Registration is possible for 2nd year (or higher) students participating in an Honours programme. The registration for the Honours courses will start on June 4, 10 am -  June 8, 11 pm, You can register through the online registration form that will appear on Honoursmodules IIS.

Placement will be at random and within two weeks students will hear whether they are placed for a course. 

There is no guarantee for placement if you register after June 8, so make sure you apply on time! 

For questions: please contact Honours-iis@uva.nl

 

Facts & Figures
Mode
Honours programme
Credits
6 ECTS,
Language of instruction
English
Conditions for admission
Starts in
September