In September of 2019, Swedish climate change activist, Greta Thunberg, participated in The Global Week for Future, a movement that included a Climate Strike with four million young people across the globe demanding that nations secure their futures by preserving our planet. In that spirit, the theme of this course--The Global Climate--examines the following essential questions: How has the climate crisis changed our relationship to our world? As global citizens, what responsibilities do we have to the cultures, communities, and environment around us? How do we create positive change for our future? We will attempt to answer these questions through an examination of texts from Africa, the Americas, Asia, and Europe. Assessments will include critical essays, personal reflections, and the opportunity to participate in The Humanities Workshop, a consortium of secondary schools that uses the humanities to examine issues of social justice.

The Year of the Flood Margaret Atwood (Canada)

In the second of Atwood’s MaddAddam trilogy, we read the stories of Toby and Ren, two women who have survived the Waterless Flood. They were also members of the God’s Gardeners, a religious organization devoted to the protection of all God’s creatures. Through a novel that is at once a personal confession, a detailed account, and a religious artifact, we come face to face with the anxieties and the hope that currently define the moment we live in today. Atwood is masterful in her ability to frighten us with a dystopian world that is all too similar to our own and at the same time to inspire us with characters who find the courage to act while still surrounded by that fear.