Doctoral Course - Being Human in Times of Climate Change: Stretching the Disciplinary Boundaries

Doctoral Course

Being Human in Times of Climate Change:

Stretching the Disciplinary Boundaries

Lund University, Sweden

January 23-27, 2012

Short description of the course:

The humanities and social sciences have often been perceived of as being outside of the otherwise motley gang of disciplines and fields crowding the neighbourhood of the climate change problem complex. But there is, in fact, a growing interest for climate change in these academic fields.

This course aims to provide an overview of current research on climate change in the humanities and social sciences. Perspectives from across a number of disciplines will be explored as the issue is addressed through a number of themes and angles. 

Work which is relevant for the issue of climate change is being produced within the different subjects of the humanities and social sciences. Throughout the course we will engage with theoretical and methodological tools developed and employed within a number of disciplines to further understanding of the human dimensions of global warming. The course will provide both an acquaintance with recent developments in the respective fields and opportunities for comparative analysis and discussions of the promises and pitfalls of interdisciplinarity, understood in the widest sense of the term.

We will see that the work from the humanities and social sciences is highly relevant to the understanding of the natural and social dimensions of climate change. Researchers in the humanities and social sciences may differ widely in their approaches; therefore, one of the aims of this course is to advance interdisciplinary communication between these disciplines. This may in turn serve to enhance the positions of such research concerning climate change, making it evident that theorising about the human being and her relations with others and the environment constitutes an essential dimension for exploring and understanding the climate change problematique. One aim of the course is thus to broaden the scope further; deepen the well of potential influx that sustainability science can draw on by presenting examples of accomplished research that has already been produced or is under production as well as fields that show promise. This course should be able to provide some of the useful tools for addressing the dimensions of human agency, human values, issues of interpretation and reception of overwhelming problems, motivational and emotional facts in relation, in short what it is to be a human being in times of climate change.

The course welcomes doctoral students who would like to like to explore the issue of climate change from different perspectives and is intended for doctoral students in all disciplines. We put great emphasis on creating an interdisciplinary group that may benefit from each other’s knowledge and perspectives.

Form:

One week intensive course of 5 credits, open to doctoral students from all disciplines.

Examination:

Active participation (for a schedule, see below)

Reading of assigned literature (to be announced)

A short position paper on interdisciplinarity (more information on this will be distributed to participants before the course starts)

Application:

Send an email to anna.kaijser@lucid.lu.se or lena.christensen@lucsus.lu.se, including your name and institutional affiliation, a short description of your research interest and a motivation for your wish to participate.

The deadline for applications is December 1.

Practicalities:

There is no participation fee. The participants need to arrange their own accommodation.

For more information, please email anna.kaijser@lucid.lu.se or lena.christensen@lucsus.lu.se

Tentative Schedule

Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday
Presentation of course and participants	Kjersti Fløttum, Department of Foreign Languages, University of Bergen Trine Dahl, Department of Professional and Intercultural Communication, University of Bergen	Karin Bradley, School of Architecture and the Built Environment, Stockholm Royal Institute of Technology	Adeline Johns-Putra, Department of English, University of Exeter Adam Trexler, Department of English, University of Exeter	Discussion of student papers on interdisciplinarity
L	U	N	C	H
Kristin Asdal,   Centre for Technology, Innovation and Culture (TIK), Oslo University	Frida Hastrup, Department of Anthropology, Copenhagen University	Maria Hellström Reimer, Art Culture and Communication, Malmö University	Alexa Weik von Mossner, Department of Languages and Literatures, University of Fribourg

This schedule may be subject to changes, and more activities may be added (for instance during evenings)