- Winter 2021
Syllabus Description:
Political Ecology of Death in the Anthropocene
(synchronous online seminar)
What we will study
Death is indispensable to the healthy functioning of ecosystems and even to evolution itself. Yet one species has developed the capacity to anticipate (and therefore dread) death and commandeer the biosphere to its own ends. Pollution and habitat destruction, once limited to local and regional scales, are now planetary; hence the Anthropocene. The implications are profound: not only are we facing the end of “nature” as something separate from human culture, we also face the likely death of civilization as we know it. How, then, do we live with a sense of meaning and purpose? And what can the current pandemic teach us about the political ecology of death?
While death is a fact of life, who lives, who dies, and who decides are political matters. Our discussion will therefore be informed by themes of justice, equity, power, authority, and agency. At the same time, because mortality is also an intensely personal reality, we will deepen our inquiry through poetry, videos, contemplative practices, personal exploration, and political action.
We will explore the following topics:
- Lessons from the current pandemic for understanding the political ecology of death in the Anthropocene
- Secular, religious, spiritual and indigenous perspectives on death
- Ernst Becker's “denial of death” thesis and more recent terror management theory
- The relationship between waste and death
- Linear economics (from resource extraction to production to consumption to waste) vs. regenerative living systems
- Anthropogenic species death and the mass extinction crisis
- How cultural attitudes about ecology and death inform the treatment of animals
- Pesticides, herbicides, antibiotics, and ecocide
- The political ecology of end-of-life care and the treatment of corpses
- Indigenous peoples and the relationship between the death of ecosystems and cultures
- The relationship between democracy and the political ecology of death
- Grief, hope, meaning, and political agency in the face of ecocide
What You Will Learn
If you engage yourself dynamically with this course, including grasping content from lectures and readings, participating actively in class, writing thoughtful papers and blog posts, and creatively contributing to a group action project, I expect that you will improve your depth of understanding and skillfulness in many arenas, most especially the following:
- Analytical and critical thinking skills about some of the most important issues of our day, including climate change, biodiversity
- The capacity to integrate cognitive, emotional, and somatic self-awareness in the face of challenging questions
- Your ability to articulate ideas and feelings about these issues, both in writing and conversation
- Your ability to listen to, understand, empathize and collaborate with others who do not necessarily share your opinions and beliefs
- Reflecting upon your sense of meaning in the face of both personal mortality and ecocide
- Enhancing your sense of citizenship and political agency in the planetary era.
Course requirements
- Intensive reading on the political ecology of death (100-200 pages/week)
- Active participation in discussions and contemplative practices
- Please bring your full and engaged presence to class, having read the associated materials
- Contributing to our course blog (three required posts)
- Group action project
- Weekly meetings with your “study/action group” towards a community service project
- Your contribution will be evaluated by your peers
- A final paper synthesizing your learning
ALL COURSE MATERIALS, INCLUDING CLASS RECORDINGS, WILL BE POSTED TO THE COURSE CALENDAR.
Course Grading
Participation 20%
Postings to course blog 40%
Weekly question/thought 10%
Action project
Group presentation 5%
Final synthesis paper 25%
Required Texts (in order of usage)
Sheldon Solomon, Jeff Greenberg, and Tom Pyszczynski (2015) The worm at the core: on the role of death in life, New York: Random House.
Roy Scranton (2015) Learning to die in the Anthropocene: reflections on the end of a civilization, San Francisco, CA: City Lights Books.
Joanna Macy and Chris Johnstone (2012) Active hope: how to face the mess we're in without going crazy, Novato, Calif.: New World Library.
Selected excerpts from the following (on Canvas):
David Abram (2011). Becoming Animal: An Earthly Cosmology. Vintage.
Christopher Bache (2000) Dark night, early dawn: Steps to a deep ecology of mind. Albany, NY: SUNY Press.
Ernst Becker (1975) The denial of death. New York: Free Press.
Ben Bradley, et al. (2013) The Oxford handbook of the philosophy of death. New York: Oxford University Press.
William Connolly (2017) Facing the planetary: entangled humanism and the politics of swarming. Durham: Duke University Press.
Charles Eisenstein (2011) Sacred economics: money, gift, & society in the age of transition, Berkeley, Calif.: Evolver Editions.
Amitav Ghosh (2016) The great derangement: climate change and the unthinkable, Chicago ; London: The University of Chicago Press.
Gay Hawkins (2006) The ethics of waste: how we relate to rubbish. Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield.
Thomas Homer-Dixon (2008) The Upside of Down: Catastrophe, Creativity, and the Renewal of Civilization Island Press.
Robert Jay Lifton (2017) The climate swerve: reflections on mind, hope, and survival, New York, NY: The New Press.
Karen Litfin (2014) Ecovillages: Lessons for Sustainable Community. Polity, 2014.
Moore, Kathleen Dean (2016) Great tide rising: towards clarity and moral courage in a time of planetary change. Berkeley, CA: Counterpoint.
Simon Nicholson & Sikina Jinnah (2016) New earth politics: Essays from the Anthropocene. Cambridge, MA: The MIT Press.
Erik Reece (2017) Practice Resurrection and Other Essays. Counterpoint Press.
Yalom, Irvin (2008) Staring at the sun: overcoming the terror of death. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.
Rebecca Solnit (2004) Hope in the dark: untold histories, wild possibilities. New York: Nation Books.
Anna Tsing (2015) The mushroom at the end of the world: On the possibility of life in capitalist ruins, Princeton: Princeton University Press.
Paul Wapner (2013) Living Through the End of Nature: The Future of American Environmentalism. MIT Press.
Francis Weller (2015) The Wild Edge of Sorrow: Rituals of Renewal and the Sacred Work of Grief. Berkeley, CA: North Atlantic Books.
Electronic readings on Canvas
Group Action Project (to be discussed)
Like service learning, these projects take your in-class learning into the public sphere but they are also different in that they are self-initiated and self-implemented by a group of 4-5 students. They therefore generally entail more creativity, democratic deliberation, and agency. The group’s purpose is threefold. First, it will help members assimilate and deepen their connection to the course material in a smaller social setting than in lecture or quiz section. Second, groups may wish to experiment with contemplative practices—either those introduced in class or others. Third, and most importantly, action groups will engage in an action in the larger community beyond this class.
Projects might be part of an existing endeavor or it might be entirely your group’s own creation. Either way, I encourage you to familiarize yourself with existing initiatives that your group might consider supporting. Whether the project is an educational effort, an artistic creation, a contribution to an existing initiative, or a simple act of service, it should have a political dimension. The point of this assignment is to somehow bring your group's concerns to the polis.
Action groups will meet with me before submitting their project proposal at the end of Week 3. The proposal is a group submission but final synthesis papers will be individual submissions.
Modes of Communication
I generally check my Canvas inbox only a couple times a week so the best way to reach me is by email, which I check daily. During the week, I will make every effort to get back to you within 24 hours; on weekends, it could be 48 hours. I enjoy meeting students one-on-one. If you cannot make my office hours, I’ll work with you to find a time that works for both of us. If this is challenging, we can find a time to meet via Zoom teleconference.
Late papers and missed exams
Late papers are not accepted without a medical excuse. All requests on these matters must be made through me, preferably before the due date. Similarly, a missed exam can only be made up if you have a written medical excuse. No exceptions will be made for holiday travel before our final exam date.
About plagiarism
In our society, taking another person’s words or ideas and passing them off as one’s own is a form of theft—so please do not succumb to this temptation! Any direct quote should be placed in quotation marks and cited appropriately; likewise, any ideas or paraphrasing of another author’s thoughts or information should be attributed to that author. When in doubt, cite! A good rule of thumb is to never cut and paste from an online source into your own paper.
The same tools that make it easy for students to plagiarize in today’s information age also make it easy for instructors to detect plagiarism. And, even if one is not caught, any marginal benefit gained is greatly outweighed by the harm inflicted upon one’s own character. In a nutshell, the university’s rules on plagiarism will be strictly enforced in this class. The UW Library provides a good definition and an overview of ten types of plagiarism.
Grade Appeals
If you have inquiries about a grade, please follow the steps listed below:
- Carefully read and consider all comments. Wait 24 hours before contacting your me.
- Email me a written statement within one week of receiving your grade, explaining your reason(s) for contesting it and why you deserve an alternate grade.
- Bring the assignment in question and a copy of your statement to me during office hours or by appointment. I will reread the material, regrade if appropriate, and return it to you with comments within a week. Please note that when an assignment is “re-graded” it will be completely reevaluated, which means that your grade can go up or down as a result.
Disability Provisions
If you wish to request academic accommodations due to a disability, please contact Disability Resources for Students.
Religious Accommodations
Washington State law requires that UW develop a policy for accommodation of student absences or significant hardship due to reasons of faith or conscience, or for organized religious activities. The UW’s policy, including more information about how to request an accommodation, is available here. Accommodations must be requested within the first two weeks of this course using the Religious Accommodations Request Form.
Mental Health Resources
As a student, you may experience a range of challenges that can interfere with learning, such as strained relationships, increased anxiety, substance use, feeling down, difficulty concentrating and/or lack of motivation. These mental health concerns or stressful events may diminish your academic performance and/or reduce your ability to engage with others inside and outside of the classroom. Counseling services are available and treatment does work. You can learn more about UW health & wellness services by contacting Student Coaching and Care at livewell@uw.edu or 206.543.6085. You might also benefit from the mindfulness resources available on campus and beyond.