Post-Human Nuclear Experience

This class is a University Lecture class at The New School and uses language learning techniques to meet the general education requirements of any undergraduate. It explores themes of nuclear energy and disasters by focusing on Chernobyl and the popular anime classic Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind. The class is part cinema studies, part Japanese language, part architecture and design, part history, and part literature class, well suited to 

The lectures sought to provide an input flood to inspire student projects which were unable to be completed because of a strike. Still I was able to deliver all of the lectures, which I had written myself as the sole creator of this innovative class. For access to the lecture pages and images used, click the site image above or this link. Samples are below:

I began this class as a reading skills class in the IEP program for ESL students. I used a PBL approach and then later retooled the class for a general education level. I did not want to remove the language teaching component, but as the undergraduates were majority native English speakers, I switched the language focus to Japanese katakana characters which were used in the manga we read in class. By using a diverse set of content from a TV mini-series, to historical accounts about Chernobyl, to a film and the manga that inspired it, I was able to cast a wide net. This was done in the hopes of inspiring and facilitating amazing student work.