This course asks what counts as nature, for whom and when, and asks how environments are made in specific moments in time, for particular groups of people. Responding to these questions, the course examines children’s books, film, art, video games and even pets, to interrogate the cultural politics that accompany representations of nature and entanglements with non-human life. Through examining the social claims at play in what is considered ‘natural’, or not, students make sense of the non—innocence of nature and discuss creative ways for constructing more just environments.
Area of Focus: Nature, Society and Environmental Change; People, Place and Power