ENV 690b/SPAN 690 () / 2023-2024

Rethinking Nature and Culture from Latin America

Credits: 3 Spring 2024: Th, 3:30-5:20, TBA

The present ecological crisis, characterized by climate change, species extinction, global pandemics, and the unequal distribution of environmental harm has brought about a transformation in critical thought. The “environmental humanities” denotes the integration of interdisciplinary perspectives analyzing the relations between humans and nature to critique dominant modes of production and consumption and envision alternate ways of inhabiting the earth. This seminar provides a critical overview of some of the key approaches and debates in this growing field, with an emphasis on Latin American, Caribbean, and Latinx culture and history. Over the course of the semester, students carefully examine diverse contemporary frameworks generated both in the Global South and the Global North, such as posthumanism, new materialisms, ecofeminism, eco-Marxism, world-ecology, and the energy humanities. By engaging with recent works by philosophers, environmental historians, critical geographers, and scholars in literary and cultural studies, students gain a strong foundation in human and nonhuman relations within the broader context of the environmental history of capitalism. Students participate in class discussions, write weekly responses, lead and moderate academic-style presentations, write a book review, and produce a final research paper. he Enrollment limited to fifteen.
Limited to 15