The Fragility of the Earth, the Hope for the Future, and the Legacy of the Climate Crisis 3700-AL-FEHF-OG

We will discuss the familiar notion of living on earth and living in the world, nature and culture, power and violence. One of the essential aspects of being a human being in the world with others is gratefulness toward the earth and toward other inhabitants of the planet. The experience of the fragility of the earth calls for our increasing responsibility. Gratitude for being in the world makes us sensitive to environmental issues. The prophet Jeremiah powerfully expresses the future of human life in the world: “‘For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you a hope and a future ” (Jer 29:11). To live responsibly, we need an ethical orientation that can help us respond to global environmental issues.

We will practice the close reading of Richard Powers, Bewilderment (2021) from the perspective of parents and children, educators and students in order to disclose the meaning of face-to-face engagement with the natural world. Similarly to the father-son experience during a camping trip, we will examine not only what is happening in the world in the time of climate crisis but will critically address our response to environmental issues.
David Attenborough’s, A Life on Our Planet (2020) will serve as an example of a productive and ethically sensitive life of environmental consciousness. We will discuss this unique feature documentary to understand the meaning of personal responsibility toward the living world and the necessity to give our personal witness statement to other cohabitants of the earth, The experience of the fragility of the earth, and the challenges of the climate crisis can help us to see and be the hope for the future,

Type of course

general courses

Course coordinators

Andrzej Wierciński

Learning outcomes

Learning outcomes
Knowledge:
o student is familiar with new literature on the literature as indicated in the bibliography
o knows the state of research regarding the climate crisis and is able to design an innovative research project
Skills:
o can identify philosophical aspects of the climate crisis
o can address the importance of feelings (curiosity, patience, courage, uncertainty, self-esteem) and validates them in the process of learning
o can effectively communicate with other scholars in philosophy and liberal arts
o a creative and insightful student shows depth in thinking of and elaborating on original and novel ideas
Social competences:
o appreciates the need to learn to understand one’s life
o can set measurable, achievable, realistic, and timely goals and ways to achieve them in the context of academic, professional, and social activity
o sees the need for a dialogue between different academic disciplines and schools of thought

Assessment criteria

Students must attend classes, actively participate in discussions, and write a research paper of ca. 2500 words. The grade will be based on the paper 50%. Students should clear their topic with the instructor before writing. Final revised paper due Friday, June 21, 2024. Attendance/ Active in-class participation (50%). Along with the final paper, students are required to submit a detailed report about their attendance and self-evaluation of their activity in the class.

Bibliography

David Attenborough, A Life on Our Planet (Netflix, 2020).
Richard Powers, Bewilderment (New York: Norton & Company, 2021).
Andrzej Wierciński, Existentia Hermeneutica: Understanding as the Mode of Being in the World (Zürich: LIT Verlag, 2019).

Additional information

Information on level of this course, year of study and semester when the course unit is delivered, types and amount of class hours - can be found in course structure diagrams of apropriate study programmes. This course is related to the following study programmes:

Additional information (registration calendar, class conductors, localization and schedules of classes), might be available in the USOSweb system:

Description of 3700-AL-FEHF-OG in USOSweb