This unit examines the social, cultural, and ethical dynamics of contemporary environmental challenges. The designation of the current era as the Anthropocene, where humans rather than 'natural' forces are having the most significant impact on the planet, highlights the need for critical investigation into how we think about the environment, nature, and culture. This unit will analyse how different social and cultural traditions conceptualise human relations to the natural world, and how these ideas can perpetuate or offer creative ways of attending to global ecological crises. We will pay particular attention to issues of urban sustainability and food systems and reflect on the ethics and transformative potential of representations in the creative arts, the media and museums.

Learning outcomes

After successful completion of this unit, students will be able to:
1. Interrogate and interpret key socio-cultural narratives and theoretical representations of nature and culture;
2. Evaluate how humanities and creative arts approaches can contribute to creative interventions in ecological crises; and
3. Apply knowledge of global and cultural environmental contexts to their assessment of ethical practices in the creative and cultural sectors.

Graduate attributes

1. UC graduates are professional - employ up-to-date and relevant knowledge and skills
1. UC graduates are professional - communicate effectively
1. UC graduates are professional - use creativity, critical thinking, analysis and research skills to solve theoretical and real-world problems
1. UC graduates are professional - display initiative and drive, and use their organisation skills to plan and manage their workload
1. UC graduates are professional - take pride in their professional and personal integrity
2. UC graduates are global citizens - think globally about issues in their profession
2. UC graduates are global citizens - adopt an informed and balanced approach across professional and international boundaries
2. UC graduates are global citizens - understand issues in their profession from the perspective of other cultures
2. UC graduates are global citizens - behave ethically and sustainably in their professional and personal lives
3. UC graduates are lifelong learners - reflect on their own practice, updating and adapting their knowledge and skills for continual professional and academic development
3. UC graduates are lifelong learners - be self-aware
3. UC graduates are lifelong learners - adapt to complexity, ambiguity and change by being flexible and keen to engage with new ideas
4. UC graduates are able to demonstrate Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander ways of knowing, being and doing - use Indigenous histories and traditional ecological knowledge to develop and augment understanding of their discipline

Prerequisites

Must have passed 48 credit points.

Corequisites

None.

Incompatible units

None.

Equivalent units

None.

Assumed knowledge

None.