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Environment and Story (ENST10001)
Undergraduate level 1Points: 12.5On Campus (Parkville)
Overview
Availability | Semester 2 |
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Fees | Look up fees |
This subject introduces students to the skills of interdisciplinary thinking, writing and reading, and brings together knowledge and perspectives from different disciplines for discussing complex social and environmental challenges. Drawing from disciplines such as literature, cultural studies, media studies, philosophy and environmental studies, the relationship between humans and the natural environment will be explored. The subject will consider the role of stories as a cultural medium for storing and communicating the knowledge and values of a society. We will raise questions such as: What is a natural environment or 'nature'? How do humans relate to nature? How do we socially and ethically position animals, plants or landforms? How is nature represented in our major stories and cultural narratives? Is society listening to the stories of the land? This subject engages with a range of Indigenous and non-Indigenous scholarship, and provides a way for students to theorise the interaction of different knowledge systems in relation to land management.
This subject is only available to students enrolled in the Bachelor of Arts (extended) or the Bachelor of Science (extended).
Intended learning outcomes
On successful completion of this subject, students should have:
- a knowledge and understanding of historical and contemporary cultural perceptions of nature, and how these perceptions may be constructed, deconstructed, questioned, challenged and subverted;
- an understanding of key concepts and topics employed by the environmental humanities;
- explored ideas for restoring and developing human connection with the environment;
- recognised the roles of connection to place, storytelling and environmental philosophy, in environmental ethics; and
- learnt to value learning and knowledge through a plurality of methods and experiences.
Generic skills
at the completion of this subject, students should gain generic skills in the following areas:
- critical and creative thinking, based on an understanding of the connections between story, knowledge, environmental ethics and place;
- oral communication;
- collaborative and individual learning;
- research essay writing; and
- interdisciplinary thinking.
Last updated: 3 November 2022