Global Political Ecology

This module comprises the last four weeks of the semester (Week 12 through Week 15).

Week 12

The idea of wilderness

Main goal: To help students learn how understandings of societies’ relation to nature are rooted in their philosophical traditions. To illustrate this, engage in a sort of “archeology of knowledge” assignment to learn how contemporary Western understandings of nature-society relations evolved through the agricultural revolution, Ancient Greece, Judeo-Christian myths and the scientific revolution. The students learn that people’s understanding of society’s relations to the environment are culturally and historically contingent.

Reading: Max Oelschlaeger, “Ancient Mediterranean Ideas of Humankind and Nature” and “The Alchemy of Modernism” in Max Oelschlaeger, The Idea of Wilderness. New Haven, Yale University Press, 1991.

Week 13

Ecological Worldviews

Once we have problematized our own society’s understanding of its relationship with nature the students are ready to learn about alternative conceptions. The readings this week introduce the students to contemporary mainstream ecological worldviews such as utilitarian ecologies and conservationism, but also to alternatives, including authoritarian ecology, misanthropic ecology, ecofeminism, radical ecology, deep ecology, social ecology, and ecosocialism. The students learn that there are many alternative ways to relate to the environment.

Reading: Leferrière and Stoett, “Ecological Thought. A Synopsis”. In Eric Leferrière and Peter J. Stoett, International Relations Theory and Ecological Thought, London, Routledge, 1999, chapter 2. Vandana Shiva, Making Peace with Earth. New Delhi (India): Women Unlimited.

Week 14

Building an ecological worldview

Now that students know different ecological worldviews, Beloit College colleagues Chris Fink (English) and Jo Ortel (Art History) are invited to illustrate how different artists reflect on their own relation to the environment. Chris Fink reads some of his short stories about life in the rural Midwest and Jo Ortel shows us the work of artists who push us to think about our imprint on nature. Their presentations and ensuing discussions invite the students to start exploring their own understanding of society’s relationship to nature.

Reading: Chris Fink (2013), Farmers’ Almanac: a Work of Fiction. Emergency Press, New York.

Week 15

My own ecological worldview

Students are now ready to develop their own ecological worldview. During the last week of the semester the students think about and discuss their own understanding of society’s relation to the environment. They articulate their views in a final essay that works as the capstone assignment for the course.

Teaching Notes

I faced two main challenges when teaching this module in Fall 2014. The first one is my lack of expertise in the arts and the humanities. To ease my discomfort, I disclosed to students that I am also embarking on this project of self-understanding with them and that my role is facilitator. The process of analysis and deconstruction of the assigned texts is a collaborative in nature. The goal is to give everyone arguments they can use to later articulate their own ecological worldview.

The second challenge is how to push the students to articulate and share their own ecological worldview in class. Some of them feel uncomfortable because they see this process as a confession. To overcome this, I follow several strategies. During class we break up into small groups where some students feel more comfortable. We also summarize the main ideas behind each ecological worldview on the board and ask everyone to stand by the one that best matches their own. I also stand by one of them. To help them write their reflection essay, I ask them to build their ecological worldview on some of the arguments provided in the reading or by the guest speakers so that they can see the assignment as a literature review rather than a personal confession.