The Anthropocene presents us with the problem of all problems for the following reasons:<\/p>\n
Taken alone, each of these factors presents a conundrum; taken together, they cry out for deep inquiry into the peculiar place of the “anthros” in the scheme of things. The dawning of the Anthropocene compels us to ask ourselves not only, \u201cWhat on Earth are we doing?\u201d but even more fundamentally, \u201cWhat on Earth are we?\u201d At a minimum, the new geological era highlights our species\u2019 paradoxical relationship to the rest of creation. While these questions can be illuminated by the natural sciences, social sciences and humanities, so too can we investigate them through personal and interpersonal introspection around the question, \u201cWho am I in relation to this?\u201d The very magnitude of the problem and its undeniable biophysical dimensions tend to transfix our gaze outwardly, yet grappling with the “anthros” also entails looking within.<\/p>\n
The premise of this course is that cognition will be necessary but not sufficient to address the global challenges of the 21st century. Rather than studying such issues as climate change, the extinction crisis, world food challenges, and global justice as happening only \u201cout there,\u201d we view them as also happening \u201cin here” by continually asking ourselves, “Who am in relation to this?” This holistic approach involves integrating cognitive learning with affective and somatic awareness through contemplative practices and journaling.<\/p>\n
In our exploration of \u201chuman beingness\u201d in the Anthropocene, we are engaged in deep introspection and sharing. Yet our study of \u201cperson\/planet politics\u201d would be incomplete if we did not bring it into the wider collective\u2014hence small-group action projects.\u00a0The final requirement for this course is a creative project addressing the question, \u201cWho am I in the Anthropocene?\u201d<\/p>\n
Our course blog serves to document our collective learning adventure. We hope to make a small contribution to the vital conversation about the nexus of ‘human beingness’ and planetary politics in the Anthropocene.<\/p>\n
Professor Karen Litfin<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The Anthropocene presents us with the problem of all problems for the following reasons: It was a colossal accident. It is a consequence of the everyday life choices of over seven billion people. These choices are strongly driven by an amalgamation of psychological and institutional forces with deep historical and even biological roots. The everyday actions of a few of… Read more »<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-7","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/depts.washington.edu\/honr392a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/7","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/depts.washington.edu\/honr392a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/depts.washington.edu\/honr392a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/depts.washington.edu\/honr392a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/depts.washington.edu\/honr392a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"http:\/\/depts.washington.edu\/honr392a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/7\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":151,"href":"http:\/\/depts.washington.edu\/honr392a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/7\/revisions\/151"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/depts.washington.edu\/honr392a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}