This course explores why composing and telling stories about planetary and
geological change that resonate with people is both critically important and
immensely difficult. The scales of people's experiences, beliefs, and
imaginations are at odds with scientific narratives about projected conditions
of the planet's future. By utilizing tools and concepts from both geography
and the humanities a, this course will place stories about the Anthropocene
and explore how the future remains open to alternative trajectories.
This course aims for students to gain a robust understanding of the physical
and cultural urgencies of the Anthropocene as well as to learn to craft
plausible pathways to more desirable futures. There will be no exams. Instead
students will be evaluated based upon participation in class discussion and
small out of class assignments that allow for exploration of course concepts in creative ways.