– The topic question is can humanity survive the Anthropocene? You can choose whatever side to take, but you must argue your chosen side.
– Your essay should have a clear introduction (with a thesis statement, i.e. an argument that can be summed up in a sentence or two), a body, and a conclusion.
– In it, you will ideally address a variety — but not necessarily all — of the following sub-questions in some way, though not necessarily in this order: What is this Anthropocene? How should we define it? Where did we get this idea and why are we using it? What are the central characteristics of the Anthropocene? How did humanity get to this point in our development? What changes are necessary to survive this era (assuming of course that we do)? How can we govern ourselves better? What types of structures and institutions and people do we need to survive? What kind of justice, of democracy, of sustainability do we need to survive in the Anthropocene? What can we learn from past, i.e. from societies or civilizations that failed to adjust to environmental realities and consequences? Are you personally hopeful that we can survive and thrive in this Anthropocene? Why or why not? You should feel free to pose and answer any other related questions as you see fit in forming your response to the general question.
– Your essay should not attempt to answer the above questions one-by-one, but instead, be creatively structured. Also, this is a REFLECTIVE essay and not a research paper, so no external sources (i.e. nothing outside the assigned course materials) are necessary nor allowed.
– There should be at least 10 in-text citations from the sources that will be given.
– Sources:
1. A fierce green fire: the battle for a living planet
2. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wJAbHssn0GI&t=1s
3. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AW138ZTKioM
4. The politics of the Anthropocene by John Dryzek and Jonathan Pickering
Only these sources may be used.