Climate Change and Climate Justice
Climate change is an unprecedented challenge for humanity. Understanding it and facing its impacts ask us to consider some of the biggest and most important questions of our time: What led to this crisis in the first place? What alternative futures and ways of living does it require us to imagine? How should we live in relationship to one another, to nature, and the non-human world? How should the legacies of colonization, historic rates of fossil fuel emissions, and current levels of poverty and vulnerability impact different nations’ responsibilities to address these crises? What does a just global policy look like when “we are in the same storm, but not in the same boat”?
This class will provide tools and frameworks for considering these critical questions. Following the Next Generation Science Standards, students will learn the basics of climate science, including the greenhouse effect mechanism, the role of human impacts in anthropogenic climate change, and local and global effects of climate change. We will also look at big picture frameworks to bring power analysis and systems thinking to this content, and consider what response, agency, and imagination can look like in the face of these crises: from adaptation and mitigation to collective action, art, and re-imagining our “deep stories” to open up new collective possibilities.
Prerequisites: None
Instructor: Anna Mudd
DETAILS:
Suggested age range: 13+
Outside work: In most weeks there will be one documentary to watch and some short case studies to read.
When & where: Fridays on Zoom from 11:00-12:00 Eastern Time, Jan. 10 - March 28, 2025.
Fee: $250 ungraded/$300 graded; this includes a non-refundable registration fee of $10. We offer discounts for groups, siblings, and students who enroll in multiple classes. (Discount information.) Payment plans available. Fees waived for families with financial need. (Waivers and payment plan information.) Questions about how classes work? Read our course FAQ.
Photo credit: Laura Fokkena