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1154 | 714 | The Anthropocene and the planetary in the context of the climate and ecological emergency | Martin Gren

This presentation aims to address some of the conceptual and existential challenges that geography educators and researchers face in the Anthropocene. One challenge is about “the planetary”, a concept that has recently began to appear in social science and the humanities. Is it to be theorized as a scale, or is it un-scalable? How does it relate to Modern geographical theorizing, particularly the Global and the scale of local-global? Do we need to re-think the Planet over the Globe in a geographical framework relevant to the Anthropocene? Is the planetary also intertwined with the rise of a (partly) new object/being for geography that now is referred to as, for example; the Earth System, the Geobiosphere of the Anthropocene, the Critical Zone, GAIA? Does the Planetary therefore challenge geography´s big and dear objects (place, landscape, space,…) because they essentially have the Earth´s surface as projection plane (and not the Planetary)? And what does the “planetary turn” imply for a Modern geographical imagination that operates with conceptual fix-points like Nature, Society, Culture?_x000D_
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The other side of the Anthropocene is literally about life and death. We live in a in the midst of a planetary climate- and ecological emergency. The overall emergency narrative seems clear enough, at present we seems to be on track for about 2 to 3 degrees Celsius of planetary heating (“global warming”). In order to avoid the worst effects of planetary climate- and ecological change, we need a societal transformation that in time and scope is historically unprecedented. Meanwhile, loads of difficult existential aspects arise that geography educators will be confronted with. For example, many young people state that they are “doomed”, and the Modern hopes and promises of a better societal future is now overshadowed by a dire earthly Anthropocene future moving towards them._x000D_

Martin Gren
Linnaeus University, Sweden

 
ID Abstract: 714

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1154 | 811 | Rethinking geography education in the Anthropocene – exploring some key issues | Gabriel Bladh

This paper aims to discuss the implications of the Anthropocene challenges for geography education and the current school curriculum. Research on human interventions in the Earth system have increasingly found evidence that humans are profoundly changing the ecology of the planet earth, and have become a geological force. The relationship between “nature” and “culture” has been a central component in the constitution of geography as a science as well as a school subject. It can be argued that geographical knowledge has considerable educational potential to explore and make sense of relations and interconnections in the context of a complex world and a dynamic earth system. However, scientific specialization have made the links between disciplinary knowledge and the holistic idea of geography challenging. The intellectual history of the subject of geography illustrates how difficult it is to escape dualistic thinking. _x000D_
In a geographical context, the challenges of the Anthropocene lead to a revisiting and rethinking of ideas about the relationship between humans and nature, and on perspectives of sustainable development. This includes complex issues on ontology and epistemology, which also have a bearing on school geography. A key challenge for Geography education is to consider how to approach the relationship between people and the environment from different temporal and spatial scale perspectives including future thinking. Another is how to deal with ontological shifts when using different conceptions of space and place, e.g. space/place as a physical-material entity or as a space/place for human thought and action. Further, a geography curriculum for the Anthropocene will have many “wicked problems” to handle, which need a more grounded position on ethics as well as an expanded deliberative repertoire for teachers’ work in the classroom._x000D_

Gabriel Bladh
Karlstad University

 
ID Abstract: 811

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1154 | | Geography Education and the challenge of the Anthropocene | Tine Béneker (1); Gabriel Bladh (2)

The Anthropocene is a concept and perspective that challenges many foundations in our thinking about the relationships between human society and the planet earth. Findings from Earth Systems Science as well as research by Quaternary Geology Stratigraphers designate the Anthropocene as an ecological and epochal threshold. Humans are profoundly changing the ecology of the planet earth, and have become a geological force. For geographers, the Anthropocene leads to a revisiting and re-evaluation of ideas on human-nature relationships, including those between human and physical geography.  
This has major implications for the school subject Geography. On the one hand, geographical knowledge has profound educational potential to make sense of this day and age as well as to engage in scenario thinking and discuss alternative futures. Thinking geographically can provide the means to explore, interpret and clarify relations and interconnections in the context of a complex world and a dynamic earth system. New attention is being paid to the role of place in pedagogy, more-than-human elements and outdoor education (Lynch & Mannion, 2021). On the other hand, it poses great challenges because the current school curriculum (and practice) is often not (yet) equipped for it: the stability of natural systems is mostly taken for granted, geo-historical writing of the earth and of human mankind are not connected, let alone the implications for discussing sustainable development. A deeper engagement with the Anthropocene from a geographical point of view would include the study of many ’wicked problems’ with related ethical questions, putting the values dimension of geography education up front (Mitchell & Stones, 2022).
World-wide the concept of the Anthropocene is still absent in geography curricula (Bagoly-Simó, 2021). However the discussion about it, among researchers, teacher educators and geography education communities, becomes more prominent. Therefore, this session will raise questions about how the Anthropocene challenges curriculum thinking and didactical practices in geography education, as well as how teachers can handle these challenges.  
Bagoly-Simó, P. (2021) What Does That Have to Do with Geology? The Anthropocene in School Geographies around the World, Annals of the American Association of Geographers, 111:3, 944-957
Lynch, J. & Mannion, G. (2021) Place-responsive Pedagogies in the Anthropocene: attuning with the more-than-human, Environmental Education Research, 27:6, 864-878
Mitchell, D. & Stones, A. (2022). Disciplinary knowledge for what ends? The values dimension of curriculum research in the Anthropocene. London Review of Education. Vol. 20(1).   Type: presentations, discussionLanguage: English

Tine Béneker (1); Gabriel Bladh (2)
(1) Utrecht University, (2) Karlstad University

 
ID Abstract:

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1154 | 37 | Future Focused Teaching Orientations of Geography Teachers in Germany and The Netherlands | Uwe Krause, Tine Béneker

The Anthropocene and climate crisis requires (among others) abilities to think longer term, to imagine futures, to distinguish probable and preferable futures, to apply multiple perspectives to (sustainability) issues and make trade-offs. Geography education can help young people to develop these capabilities. However, futures orientations in geography education still seem to be limited, due to for example curriculum restraints, absence in teacher education and lack of teachers knowledge and experiences. In a comparative study we interviewed 30 Dutch and 20 German upper secondary teachers about their teaching orientations (as part of their PCK) and the type of tasks they set while teaching the global food issue. A considerable number of teachers in both contexts show an orientation aiming at futures and sustainability oriented thinking and problem solving skills. These teachers tend to use more higher order thinking tasks in their lessons. Although the curriculum and central examination context do influence the type of task setting. During this presentation we will identify in greater detail the type of task setting, the intended powerful knowledge and the related argumentation by teachers, in order to get a better and clearer idea on how these teachers already shape their ‘teaching in the Anthropocene’.

Uwe Krause, Tine Béneker
Fontys University of Applied Sciences Tilburg, Utrecht University

 
ID Abstract: 37

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