The Coming Apocalypse: Between the Earth and the World

A cascading catastrophe threatens to turn the earth uninhabitable and bring our world to its end. How to think, in this context, the relation between our world, the world, and the earth ? Are they known, experienced, shared with others, or being destroyed in the same way? How have their difference and convergence been affected by globalization, and affect our understanding of “the Anthropocene”? Following environmental news, the seminar addresses these and related questions through literary, theoretical, and philosophical texts, including works by Nietzsche, Heidegger, Arendt, Derrida, Nancy, Latour, Haraway, Povinelli, Coates, and Mbembe. Open to juniors and seniors with instructor permission.