F1IS 5305 - (in)Security in the Anthropocene

For IR to study and engage with the Anthropocene, questions of power and marginalization and erasure have to be the starting point. To do this in relation to security, this course considers the Anthropocene by circling around two questions: whose security? and security from what? The course is broken down into three parts. The first considers the politics of determining the ‘start' of the Anthropocene, and how security is referenced in this determination, as well as how knowledge about the Anthropocene is (or is not) brought into the realm of security. In part two, we examine environmental security and the Anthropocene by focusing on two types of extraction: agribusiness and mining. In part three, we examine geopolitics and security in the Anthropocene by considering one particular ‘local' place – the Sahel, and the complexity of the global connections that have remade the Sahel as a key point of intervention of ‘security' in the Anthropocene.

Please note: The sessions for this course run every other week. There are 6 four-hour sessions:

Learning Outcomes

• Identify and discuss key notions and analytical framework in debates about the Anthropocene
• Connect complex analytical frameworks to examples and case studies, and evaluate their relevance;
• Develop and write a research paper;
• Evaluate and synthesize a complex set of literature

Professional Skills

• Research and analysis;
• Critical thinking;
• Investigation;
• Written communication.

Written feedback will be provided for each assignment final submission; in particular the feedback to the book review will be provided within 10 working days.

Book Review Friday 27 March 23.59pm (CET) 40% of mark

Option 1: Book review: Select a book from the supplied list, and write a 3,000 word (=/- 10%) book review. The review should contextualize the book in relation one of the questions provided

Option 2: ‘popular review': Write a review of 3,000 words, based on a novel of your choosing that deals with themes covered in sessions 1 – 6. The review should incorporate insights from at least 2 of the assigned weekly readings from sessions 1-6 in order to ‘tell us' something important about how we imagine security in the Anthropocene.

Take-home exam due Monday 11 May 23.59pm (CET) 60% of mark

Instructions:

Take home exam: The exam will be ‘released' to students on 28 April at 9am and will be comprised of 3 ‘short-answer' questions of 500 words each and 2 ‘long-answer' questions of 1500 words each. The questions will require students to make an analytical argument, and the answers should draw on the course readings (additional readings are not required)

In Class Presence: 4 hours every other week / 24 hours a semester

Online learning activities: 1 hour every other week / 6 hours a semester

Reading and Preparation for Class: 10 hours every other week / 60 hours per semester

Research and Writing for Individual Assessments: 60 hours a semester (approx. 25 hours for the book review, 35 hours for the research paper or take home exam)