ENGL 2071 - Anthropocene Arts: Nature-Cultures in Crisis

In 2016, the term 'Anthropocene' was formally proposed to name a new epoch in which the human species has become a geological force fundamentally altering earth system processes, and causing climate change, species extinction and loss of biodiversity. The cultural implications of this epochal shift are enormous. We will explore them by reading and viewing contemporary creative works that craft responses to it and help us to rethink the relation between nature and culture, human and nonhuman, in a time of planetary change brought about by human activity. At the same time, we will think about how these works mark and challenge the ways in which the effects of climate change and other products of the Anthropocene are unevenly distributed across the globe and between different communities. The course will centre upon creative fiction and non-fiction, but will also engage with a range of other genres including poetry, photo-essays, graphic novels, film, art installations and curatorial projects; it will advance students’ skills in critical analysis while also offering them the opportunity to think through different registers, such as creative writing and auto-ethnography. It will enable students to grapple with the most significant condition of our times while honing their understanding of how the arts matter in the world today.