<p>Lecture, three hours; discussion, one hour. Investigation of the genealogy of the modern view of nature from early European modernity (circa 1500 CE) to the present. Today, it is common to think of human culture as an entity separate from nature, with the prevailing belief that nature serves merely as a backdrop to the unfolding drama of human history. In the modern view of nature, rational, superior humans are seen as the masters of an inert, inferior nature. Study traces how the modern view of nature originated and evolved in early modern Europe during the era of European colonialism, an institution which imposed systems of plantation capitalism throughout the world, from Africa to the Caribbean, the Americas, Asia, and Oceania. Investigation of how the nature/culture divide became a defining part of global capitalism, a totalizing framework that organizes the relationship between those deemed human and the rest of nature. Examination also of how various contemporary artists and writers seek to challenge the widespread assumptions underlying the modern view of nature by offering examples of how communities are embedded in the ecologies they inhabit. P/NP or letter grading.</p>

European Languages and Transcultural Studies

College of Letters and Science

General Education — Historical Analysis (Society & Culture)

General Education — Philosophical & Linguistic Analysis (Arts & Humanities)

General Education — Social Analysis (Society & Culture)

ELTS 30 - The Modern View of Nature: Early Modern Europe to Today

The Modern View of Nature: Early Modern Europe to Today

Recognize the anomalous quality of the modern view of nature that understands humans as separate and superior, as compared to non-modern views that conceive of humans as embedded within natural systems. 

Recognize how the modern view of nature developed alongside with, and is imbricated in, European colonization and the emergence of global capitalism, and how it is tied to climate change, biodiversity collapse, and environmental injustice.

Develop a critical understanding of the material, philosophical, and cultural genealogy of the modern view of nature (circa 1500 CE to today).

Acquire familiarity with traditional and experimental methodologies relevant to the practice of transcultural studies. 

Develop a critical understanding of cross-cultural and Indigenous perspectives of nature that are invisibilized by dominant powers, and how their reemergence could play a role in transforming today’s view of nature.

Learn to articulate critical analyses related to how specific instances of historical and contemporary artwork, visual communication, and modes of media serve to reflect, embed, or challenge the modern view of nature. 

General Catalog

The Modern View of Nature: Early Modern Europe to Today

ELTS 30

5 units