The current diagnosis of the “Anthropocene” – the Age of Humans – does not only have very material implications for present and future human societies on this planet, but also, on a more epistemic level, for the traditional division between the humanities/ social sciences and the natural sciences (Chakrabarty 2009).
This course starts out with an introduction into what the “Anthropocene” is, and with a review of the current state of the art on the concept and its dating as to the Anthropocene Working Group and researchers associated with it (Steffen et al., McNeill et al, Rockström et al.). This involves interdisciplinary perspectives from Earth System and Climate sciences. We then dive into several theoretical texts by historians and literary scholars (Chakrabarty, Ghosh, Mauelshagen, Latour and others) who reflect on the implications of this new era for the humanities and historical research in particular. In a next step we will look at voices critical of the concept of the “Anthropocene”, suggested alternatives (think “Capitalocene”, “Plantationocene” etc.) and consider their scope. Most of these perspectives have emerged from postcolonial studies, which have rightfully pointed to the unequal responsibilities and power differentials involved in the coming-about of the Anthropocene (Malm & Hornborg, Lewis & Maslin, Todd & Davis and others). In a last cycle we will look at conceptual and methodological approaches (Entangled History and the Environment, World System Analysis, Social Metabolism) that may be able to connect the humanities with the natural sciences in order to come to a more inclusive perspective of the present and how we got to this point in history.
This course is largely global in its geographical scope though it puts specific emphasis on the Americas in the pre-history of the Anthropocene. Its temporal scope reaches from the European Expansion to the present.
Fluency in English; willingness to read and discuss texts in English.
Chakrabarty, Dipesh. "The Climate of History: Four Theses." Critical Inquiry 35, no. 2 (2009): 197-222.
———. "Postcolonial Studies and the Challenge of Climate Change." New Literary History 43, no. 1 (2012): 1-18.
Escobar, Arturo. "Degrowth, postdevelopment, and transitions: a preliminary conversation." Sustainability Science 10, no. 3 (2015): 451-62.
García Acosta, Virginia. "La incursión del Antropoceno en el sur del planeta." Desacatos 54, no. mayo-agosto (2017): 8-15.
———. "Cambio Climático y Antropoceno." Desacatos. Revista de Ciencias Sociales 54, no. mayo-agosto (2017):
Ghosh, Amitav. The Great Derangement: Climate Change and the Unthinkable. Chicago: Chicago University Press, 2016.
Frequency | Weekday | Time | Format / Place | Period |
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Module | Course | Requirements | |
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22-HEPS-HM1 Hauptmodul 1: Entwicklung der Wissenschaften | Entwicklung der Wissenschaften I | Study requirement
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Student information |
Entwicklung der Wissenschaften II | Graded examination
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Student information | |
22-M-4.1 Theoriemodul | Theorieseminar Transnationale Geschichtsschreibung, Transfer und Vergleich | Student information | |
22-M-4.4.6-IAS3 History of the Americas / Historia de las Américas | Seminar | Study requirement
Graded examination |
Student information |
22-M-4.4.6-IAS9 Advanced History of the Americas / Estudios avanzados de la historia de las Américas | Seminar | Study requirement
Graded examination |
Student information |
The binding module descriptions contain further information, including specifications on the "types of assignments" students need to complete. In cases where a module description mentions more than one kind of assignment, the respective member of the teaching staff will decide which task(s) they assign the students.
Degree programme/academic programme | Validity | Variant | Subdivision | Status | Semester | LP | |
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Bielefeld Graduate School In History And Sociology / Promotion | Optional Course Programme |
Depending on the MA program you’re studying this course through, you have different exam formats. Students of the History Master will sit through a 20 min oral exam based on a Thesenpapier.
Students of the IAS Master will write a 20-25 pages seminar paper on a topic of their choice within the subject scope of this course.
A corresponding course offer for this course already exists in the e-learning system. Teaching staff can store materials relating to teaching courses there: