Module: PET5101-20 Ecology and Nature

Level: 5

Credit Value: 20

Module Tutor: Paul Reid-Bowen

Module Tutor Contact Details: p.reid-bowen@bathspa.ac.uk

1. Brief description and aims of module:

The module engages with two areas of enquiry that are of contemporary and global significance. First, philosophical and religious concepts and valuations of ecology, nature and the nonhuman are considered. Second, the question of what constitutes an appropriate human relationship with nature is analysed and assessed. The module promotes a study of the arguments and theories of ecological philosophers and ethicists, for example: Jane Bennett, Winona LaDuke, Aldo Leopold, Timothy Morton, Arne Naess, Val Plumwood, Vandana Shiva. It also examines religious attitudes to nature and the nonhuman, for example: theistic and animistic traditions. A range of ecological issues and crises are introduced as a basis for reflection and analysis, for example, environmental degradation, global warming, overpopulation, resource scarcity, sustainability and species extinctions.

This is a Vertically-Integrated Module. It aims to facilitate working with other students across levels, as a collaborative community of inquiry, so as to better think about and theorise some of the ‘grand challenges’ and ‘super wicked’ problems of the twenty-first century. Meeting such challenges demands a wider-than-usual pool of students and the module aims to engage students as co-creators and fellow stakeholders in both the world and the future.

This module aims to:

• Promote systematic enquiry into the concepts of ecology, nature and the nonhuman;

• Investigate philosophical and religious resources for thinking about ecology, nature and the nonhuman;

• Critically engage with some major issues at the leading edge of contemporary philosophical, ethical and religious debate (e.g. global warming, overpopulation and sustainability);

• Foster an application of philosophy, ethics and religious studies to disciplines, practices and subjects outside academia, such as: business studies, ecological science, farming, marketing, international law and politics

2.Outline syllabus

The module will include:

Philosophical analyses of ecology, nature and the nonhuman, such as:

• Environmental ethics (e.g. deep ecology, social ecology, ecofeminism, pragmatism)

• Epistemology, ideology and the social construction of nature (e.g. climate change denial);

• Metaphysics, philosophies of immanence and nature (e.g. dialectical materialism, Gaia theory, hyperobjects, process metaphysics, vibrant materialism);

• Anthropocentrism, bio-centrism and eco-centrism;

• Meta-ethics: intrinsic values in nature.

Religious attitudes to ecology, nature and the nonhuman, such as:

• Abrahamic/theistic doctrines, narratives and theologies of nature;

• Indigenous/animist myths, rituals and valuations of the nonhuman.

An introduction to and analysis of ecological problems and issues, such as:

• Anthropogenic global warming;

• Environmental degradation;

• Limits to economic growth;

• Conservation and restoration;

• Overpopulation;

• Species extinctions;

• Sustainability.

3.Teaching and learning activities

Learning is facilitated by weekly workshops, alternating between staff-led and student-centred/led activities and supplemented (where possible and appropriate) by online and visual materials (e.g. documentaries, films, podcasts, radio shows) and guest lecturers. Students will be expected to make full use of documents and other media provided on Minerva and readings listed in the module handbook to prepare for and supplement workshops.

Assessment Item 1:

• Assessment Type: Course Work

• Description: Critical Analyses (2,000 words)

• % Weighting: 40%

Assessment Item 2:

• Assessment Type: Course Work

• Description: Individual Project (3,000 words)

• % Weighting: 60%