Black and Indigenous Ecologies
| Module title | Black and Indigenous Ecologies |
|---|---|
| Module code | HIC2033 |
| Academic year | 2023/4 |
| Credits | 15 |
| Module staff | Professor Jamie Hampson (Convenor) Dr Jim Kelly (Convenor) |
| Duration: Term | 1 | 2 | 3 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Duration: Weeks | 11 |
| Number students taking module (anticipated) | 16 |
|---|
Module description
This module will introduce you to issues surrounding environmentalism, settler colonialism, Indigenous knowledge systems, Indigenous resilience, and racism. It will introduce you to theoretical frameworks and practical examples of the sometimes fraught connections between environmentalism and race. It draws connections between race, colonialism and environmental justice. Indigenous and non-white communities have been at the face of environmental destruction and extractive economies, and this module will look at historical contexts, cultural reactions, and political activism in the face of climate change and the Anthropocene. While not seeking to homogenise a “non-white” environmentalism, it will seek to connect different discourses around social, racial, and environmental justice.
Module aims - intentions of the module
The aims of this module are:
- To introduce you to a range of non-European/settler colonial frameworks for looking at the environment
- To consider some of the cultural reactions to environmental destruction and climate change within both North/South American Indigenous and African communities
- To consider the contribution non-Western epistemologies can make to current debates about climate change, sustainability, and relations with the non-human
- To examine case studies of conservation projects that incorporate Indigenous perspectives
Intended Learning Outcomes (ILOs)
ILO: Module-specific skills
On successfully completing the module you will be able to...
- 1. Demonstrate an understanding of the intersection between race and environmentalism
- 2. Demonstrate an understanding of how colonialism, extraction, and climate change are connected issues
- 3. Demonstrate a knowledge of specific examples of Indigenous political, cultural, and environmental activisms
ILO: Discipline-specific skills
On successfully completing the module you will be able to...
- 4. Demonstrate creative and critical responses to interdisciplinary approaches to the issues of race, settler colonialism, colonialism, and environment
- 5. Demonstrate awareness of historical, cultural, and geographical frameworks for understanding issues surrounding race and the environment
ILO: Personal and key skills
On successfully completing the module you will be able to...
- 6. Demonstrate appropriate interdisciplinary research skills
- 7. Demonstrate excellent communication skills through both written work and oral contributions to seminars
Syllabus plan
- Anti-colonial methods, histories and practices
- Decolonisation is not a metaphor
- Settler colonialism past and present
- The legacies of environmental racism
- Climate change and colonialism
- Indigenous histories of place
- Black ecologies
- Environmental Justice
- Environmental Activism
Learning activities and teaching methods (given in hours of study time)
| Scheduled Learning and Teaching Activities | Guided independent study | Placement / study abroad |
|---|---|---|
| 22 | 128 | 0 |
Details of learning activities and teaching methods
| Category | Hours of study time | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Lectures | 11 | 11 x 1 hour lectures |
| Seminars | 11 | 11 x 1 hour workshops |
Formative assessment
| Form of assessment | Size of the assessment (eg length / duration) | ILOs assessed | Feedback method |
|---|---|---|---|
| Paired Presentation | 15 minutes | 1-7 | Oral |
Summative assessment (% of credit)
| Coursework | Written exams | Practical exams |
|---|---|---|
| 100 | 0 | 0 |
Details of summative assessment
| Form of assessment | % of credit | Size of the assessment (eg length / duration) | ILOs assessed | Feedback method |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Reflective Learning Log | 30 | 1000 words | 1-7 | Written |
| Essay | 70 | 2000 words | 1-7 | Written |
Details of re-assessment (where required by referral or deferral)
| Original form of assessment | Form of re-assessment | ILOs re-assessed | Timescale for re-assessment |
|---|---|---|---|
| Reflective Learning Log (1000 words) | Reflective Learning Log (1000 words) | 1-7 | Referral/Deferral Period |
| Essay | Essay (2000 words) | 1-7 | Referral/Deferral Period |
Re-assessment notes
Deferral – if you miss an assessment for certificated reasons judged acceptable by the Mitigation Committee, you will normally be either deferred in the assessment or an extension may be granted. The mark given for a re-assessment taken as a result of deferral will not be capped and will be treated as it would be if it were your first attempt at the assessment.
Referral – if you have failed the module overall (i.e. a final overall module mark of less than 40%) you will be required to redo the assessment(s) as necessary. If you are successful on referral, your overall module mark will be capped at 40%.
Indicative learning resources - Basic reading
Indicative reading list.
Gleb Raygorodetsky The Archipelago of Hope: Wisdom and Resilience from the Edge of Climate Change (New York: Pegasus Books, 2017)
Wangari Maathai The World We Once Lived in (London: Penguin, 2021)
Darcia Narvaez, Four Arrows, Eugene Halton, Brian S. Collier, & Georges Enderle Indigenous Sustainable Wisdom: First-Nation Know-how for Global Flourishing (New York: Peter Lang, 2019)
Dina Gillo-Whitaker As Long as Grass Grows: The Indigenous Fight for Environmental Justice, from Colonization to Standing Rock (Boston: Beacon Press, 2019)
Leanne Betasamosake Simpson & Robyn Maynard Rehearsals for Living (London: Penguin, 2022)
Eve Tuck and K. Wayne Yang ‘Decolonisation is not a metaphor’ Decolonization: Indigeneity, Education & Society 1:1 (2012) pp1-40
Kathryn Yusoff A Billion Black Anthropocenes (Univ. of Minnesota Press, 2018)
Ghassan Hage Is Racism an Environmental Threat (Wiley, 2017)
Indicative learning resources - Web based and electronic resources
- ELE – College to provide hyperlink to appropriate pages
Indicative learning resources - Other resources
- Electronic reading list via TALIS
| Credit value | 15 |
|---|---|
| Module ECTS | 7.5 |
| Module pre-requisites | None |
| Module co-requisites | None |
| NQF level (module) | 5 |
| Available as distance learning? | No |
| Origin date | 16/06/2022 |
| Last revision date | 18/09/2023 |
