737331 Long-term socio-ecological research in the Anthropocene

Type
Lecture and seminar
Semester hours
2
Lecturer (assistant)
Gingrich, Simone
Organisation
Offered in
Sommersemester 2025
Languages of instruction
Englisch
Content

The Anthropocene is the historical period in which humans have become a geological force. But was it really all humans who acted as a geological force? Which geological processes did they alter, when, why, and how? And what are the consequences for the current crisis? Long-term socio-ecological research offers conceptual and methodological tools to address these questions. In the seminar, we will engage with the biophysical, or material, interactions of societies with their environments at diverse places and times, and at multiple scales, with a focus on the period since c. 1800. We will explore how processes such as agriculture, forestry, mining, or energy use came to have geological impacts e.g. on global nitrogen or carbon cycles. Following socio-ecological reasoning, we will also inquire how these biophysical (geological) processes were connected to societal dynamics, e.g. by creating path dependencies, legacy effects, or tipping points. In engaging with these questions, we will not only learn about how the Anthropocene emerged, but also draw lessons on from the past on solving the current sustainability crises.
Previous knowledge expected

Basic knowledge of (environmental) history and social ecology is advantageous and desirable; a strong interest in wanting to learn from the past is indispensable.
Objective (expected results of study and acquired competences)

Students will know major approaches to environmental and climate history (in particular material environmental history, long-term socio-ecological research, historical ecology). They will have an overview over important methods of these approaches, including historical environmental accounting, historical GIS…) and source types like historical statistics and maps).

Students will gain competence in positioning academic texts in these historical and long-term research fields, in developing small research projects in environmental and climate history and in relevant research methods, including qualitative and quantitative methods, and spatial analysis of historical sources like data and maps.

Students will have skills in critical reading, presenting and discussing; in media and information literacy; in developing small projects that use suitable material and methods to address particular questions.

Students will advance their engagement with diverse perspectives, critical thinking, respectful social interaction across disciplinary boundaries, finding of creative solutions.
You can find more details like the schedule or information about exams on the course-page in BOKUonline.