POLITICS AND ENVIRONMENTAL SUSTAINABILITY

This course aims to unravel the connections between politics and the environment through a discussion of contemporary capitalism, with a particular focus on everyday consumption practices in the Minority World/Global North. It discusses the politics-capitalism-nature nexus in two main ways: firstly, by exploring the contradictions inherent in consumption; second, by focusing on the tension between the visibility and invisibility of nature in general, and non-human animals in particular, in our consumption practices and in the contemporary world. By emphasising the consequences of overconsumption on people, health and the environment, the course invites us to rethink consumption as political and not as an everyday practice that we tend to take for granted.

Learn the main concepts that underpin critical approaches to consumption and the exploration of nature as a source of economic activities
Think critically about our everyday consumption practices and their consequences on people and the environment
Think about consumption as political, rather than as an obvious practice
Learn to challenge the taken for granted-ness of our everyday practices
Learn to think of the world as more-than-human and for a more-than-human, social and environmental justice
Experiencing the possibilities of using creativity to communicate sustainability in a positive way

being able to read, write and understand English

The main contents of the course, for attending ad non-attending students, cover:
Power and politics
Capitalism and its impact on people and the environment
Nature
Consumption and its contradictions and consequences
The (in)visibility of nature: introducing the field of human-animal studies
The commodification of nature and animals: between visibility and invisibility
Commodities as bundles of socio-technical and environmental relations
The politics of consumption: following commodities

The instructor will upload on Moodle relevant papers and chapters, which may include:
Cook, I and Crang, P. “Consumption and its geographies” in Daniels, P., Bradshaw, M., Shaw, D., Sisaway, J., & Hall, T. (2016). An introduction to human geography, Pearson
Cook, I., Evans, J., Griffiths, H., Mayblin, L., Payne, B., & Roberts, D. (2007). Made in…? Appreciating the everyday geographies of connected lives.
Angus, T., Cook, I., & Evans, J. (2001). A manifesto for cyborg pedagogy?. International Research in Geographical and Environmental Education, 10(2), 195-201.
Colombino, A., & Giaccaria, P. (2021). The Posthuman imperative: From the question of the animal to the questions of the animals. The philosophy of geography, 191-210.
Colombino and Bruckner (2023) “Hidden in plain sight: How (and why) to attend to the animal in human animal relations” in Colombino, A. Bruckner, H. K. (eds.) “Methods in Human-Animal Studies: Engaging with animals through the social sciences”, Routledge.
Healy, S. (2020). Alternative economies. International encyclopedia of human geography, 111-117.

Open books exam at home: write a short essay combining creative writing and academic sources in 10-15 days on a commodity to be agreed with the lecturer. The essay should apply the follow-the-things methodology discussed in class to analyse and bring to light the complicated geographies of a commodity, highlighting how its consumption is a political practice closely related to the environment and to technology (notion of nature-culture).
The essay should have a maximum length of 2500 words and may also include images.
Detailed information on how to write the essay will be presented in class and the instructions will be uploaded on Moodle.

exam rubric:
1) Writing style, grammar (including clarity) and from (bibliography and referencing). From 1 to 7 points
2) The essay should demonstrate that the students has a full understanding of the follow the thing approach. From 1-9 points
3) The essay should also show that the student has understood how nature and commodities are connected (or disconnected) within a capitalist system. From 1 to 7 points
4) The essay should show that the student has a good understanding of how politics, consumption and the environment are interconnected . From 1-7

First part of the course: front teaching. Second part of the course, if the number of attendants allows it, students will be asked to work in small groups to think about how nature is made invisible in our everyday consumption practices.

English

The lecturer will upload to Moodle all the materials on which the lectures are based and which are necessary for preparing the exam for frequent and non-attending students. Students are advised to check the course's Moodle page during and after the lectures.
NB: Registration for the exam is managed by the electronic system of the University and not by the lecturer. ONLY the students registered in the list provided by the electronic system can take the exam.
Ca’ Foscari abides by Italian Law (Law 17/1999; Law 170/2010) regarding support services and accommodation available to students with disabilities. This includes students with mobility, visual, hearing and other disabilities (Law 17/1999), and specific learning impairments (Law 170/2010). If you have a disability or impairment that requires accommodations (i.e., alternate testing, readers, note takers or interpreters) please contact the Disability and Accessibility Offices in Student Services: disabilita@unive.it

written

This subject deals with topics related to the macro-area "Circular economy, innovation, work" and contributes to the achievement of one or more goals of U. N. Agenda for Sustainable Development