Wednesday, August 10, 2016

Decolonizing the Anthropocene: a university class

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ANTH 5210F –Special Topics in Indigenous Studies: Decolonizing the Anthropocene


I’m teaching a fall term graduate seminar on ‘Decolonizing the Anthropocene’. The Anthropocene Working Group (AWG) will be determining the terms and conditions (including determining the start date) of the Anthropocene this year. The term has become what anthropologist Beth Reddy calls a ‘charismatic mega-category’, which sweeps up within it diverse and dynamic discourses on human-environmental relations, socio-political orders, economics, ecology, post-humanism, decolonization, anti-colonization, white supremacy, imperialism, science, geology, philosophy and a host of other nodes of thought and action.

The goal of this course is to explore the scientific narratives of the Anthropocene, as framed by organizations such as the AWG, and encourage students to apply critical thinking skills in analyzing the context through which the Anthropocene is being constructed across continents, disciplines and institutions.

The activities planned for this course are constructed in order to encourage students to apply the skills and knowledge from their diverse disciplinary backgrounds to challenge popular understandings of this phenomenon by delving into scholarship from Indigenous Studies, Anthropology, Science and Technology Studies, Philosophy, Art and Education/Pedagogy studies.


The practical skills to be developed in the course include: a) critical analysis of existing literature on the Anthropocene (two assignments which require students to review class readings and analyze the context through which these pieces are situated in the canon), b) pedagogical skills (lead a class discussion and assess knowledge retention of classmates), c) peer-review skills (review a journal article and provide nuanced, detailed and thoughtful rationale for your assessment of the piece).
There are currently spaces available for Carleton and uOttawa students to register in the course.

If you want to audit the course, you are very welcome to join us! If not enough students sign up (ie: if the course is cancelled–there are only 2 people signed up right now), I am considering holding an online seminar on Fridays from 835-1125 AM (EST) for people willing to do the weekly readings and complete the assignments (I will explore the best platforms to offer this).

The draft Syllabus is uploaded here in PDF form. ANTH 5210 Syllabus 2016

I’d love to see you in class this fall!
I’m teaching a fall term graduate seminar on ‘Decolonizing the Anthropocene’. The Anthropocene Working Group (AWG) will be determining the terms and conditions (including determining the start date) of the Anthropocene this year. The term has become what anthropologist Beth Reddy calls a ‘charismatic mega-category’, which sweeps up within it diverse and dynamic discourses on human-environmental relations, socio-political orders, economics, ecology, post-humanism, decolonization, anti-colonization, white supremacy, imperialism, science, geology, philosophy and a host of other nodes of thought and action.
The goal of this course is to explore the scientific narratives of the Anthropocene, as framed by organizations such as the AWG, and encourage students to apply critical thinking skills in analyzing the context through which the Anthropocene is being constructed across continents, disciplines and institutions. The activities planned for this course are constructed in order to encourage students to apply the skills and knowledge from their diverse disciplinary backgrounds to challenge popular understandings of this phenomenon by delving into scholarship from Indigenous Studies, Anthropology, Science and Technology Studies, Philosophy, Art and Education/Pedagogy studies.
The practical skills to be developed in the course include: a) critical analysis of existing literature on the Anthropocene (two assignments which require students to review class readings and analyze the context through which these pieces are situated in the canon), b) pedagogical skills (lead a class discussion and assess knowledge retention of classmates), c) peer-review skills (review a journal article and provide nuanced, detailed and thoughtful rationale for your assessment of the piece).
There are currently spaces available for Carleton and uOttawa students to register in the course. If you want to audit the course, you are very welcome to join us! If not enough students sign up (ie: if the course is cancelled–there are only 2 people signed up right now), I am considering holding an online seminar on Fridays from 835-1125 AM (EST) for people willing to do the weekly readings and complete the assignments (I will explore the best platforms to offer this).
The draft Syllabus is uploaded here in PDF form. ANTH 5210 Syllabus 2016
I’d love to see you in class this fall!

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