This course uses poetry as a means of engaging with issues of climate change and sustainability. We explore an assortment of poems from various time periods and from different parts of the English-speaking world to examine how they enable a discussion and potential reframing of our relationship with the non-human world. This course will equip teachers, future teachers, and other interested participants, with a toolbox for working with poetry to enable reflection on sustainability, both as individuals, and within their own potential classroom contexts.

Kursens innehåll

Students will learn about and apply the critical tools and technical terminology required to analyse a range of poems. Students will practice connecting current research on climate change and sustainability to poems and will explore a variety of relevant theoretical perspectives.

Core course content will be delivered through a series of online sessions which will contain a combination of lectures, workshops, and group discussions. Students are expected to read allocated primary and secondary texts as preparation for the classes, but also have the opportunity to influence the contents of the course discussion based on their own areas of interest.

This course has a strong focus on reflection and dialogue, and the assessment design for the course reflects this with active participation during sessions contributing to the overall score. During the course students will also reflect on their learning in a series of short written assignments on which they will receive teacher feedback. Students will create a group podcast in which they will be invited to communicate their ideas about the environment and poetry in a non-traditional and accessible format.

Efter kursen

Students will leave the course well equipped to have nuanced and productive discussions about sustainability and the role of poetry in their own classrooms and communities.