Students have not studied the relationship of the climate crisis to human development, economic systems and climate solutions. This course uses two frameworks to discuss these aspects of the climate crisis.

The first is a societal and climate justice frame to understand the origins of the climate crisis in the history of human development. Students have seen the climate crisis as an emissions problem but have not examined the deep structural causes related to inequity that underly the crisis. By examining the economic system that undergirds human endeavour this course seeks to inquire into the nature of industrialism and whether there exist alternatives to the current system. India’s economic growth in the next 40 years will be examined to see what pathways of development can be imagined for our country.

The second frame is a personal one in which students will be asked to determine their relationship to the climate crisis. By examining their fears and motivations students can realize their own blocks to action and how they can create solutions to the climate crisis. Students will be assisted in this by studying examples of collective action from around the world. Ultimately the course seeks to create links between these two frames, the societal and personal, such that students see themselves as part of a larger whole with possibilities of creating networks of action.