Università Roma Tre

The course aims to offer students the most recent methodological and theoretical tools of the environmental humanities (EH). Starting from an idea of environmental humanities as a post (or anti) -disciplinary arena, the course will encourage students to think beyond disciplinary boundaries to address the environmental and social challenges of the present. The course is divided into three parts. The introductory part is designed to provide an overview of the EH through: (a) a basic knowledge of the EH main lines of; (b) an exploration of the methods used. The second part of the course focuses on a central debate in the EH, namely the Anthropocene (the age of humans) and possible alternatives. In particular, the second part focuses on the concept of Wasteocene (The era of waste). Finally, the third part includes a workshop phase in which students will be asked to design and implement a micro research / action project, to apply what they have learned in the course. Expected learning outcomes (1) A thorough understanding of the major schools of EH (2) Fairly familiarized with the methods used in EH (3) An in-depth knowledge of the debate on the Anthropocene with a focus on the Wasteocene (4) The ability to design and execute an EH micro-project / action (which is also valid as a verification of the learning outcomes) (5) Develop critical analytical skills of scientific texts and other types of sources