We live in a world of rapid ecological decline and climate disaster, but these changes are anything but natural. This course begins from the premise that all environmental change is deeply political: rife with struggles about the ways that change is understood, how it unfolds, who benefits, and how we respond to it. Students will explore the ways in which ecological degradation and change are intertwined with systems of white supremacy, settler colonialism, capitalism, and other dominant social and political processes. By paying attention to underlying assumptions and worldviews, students will also critically examine a variety of responses to these problems, what they reproduce, and what they leave behind. This course aims to support students in directing their own learning by focusing on the activities and themes that they find most compelling and relevant to their lives.
