Share Description
We will introduce you to some of the most vibrant cultural trends addressing landscape appreciation, degradation, protection, and rehabilitation that are currently circulating in the Asian hemisphere in this course, which will feature many researchers from the University of Zurich and international institutions. You will learn about landscape concepts in Asian religions, philosophy, social sciences, history, and the arts, as well as how they are reflected in selected environmental projects in China, India, and Japan. In addition, we will discuss how they are critically reflected upon in the context of the environmental humanities, and we will see how an interdisciplinary approach to regional ecosystems past and present goes beyond pragmatic technological solutions to mitigate environmental damage. Following us on our various paths and trajectories through the course's five modules, you will encounter many of the reasons why environmental humanities study projects that strive to change people's prevalent attitudes, values, and behavioural patterns in order to redeem the rapidly globalising crisis, as well as how they do so.
After becoming acquainted with the stories that Asia's landscapes – and landscape representations – tell about actual and potential human-nature relationships, you can compare and evaluate their potential to effect the desired change and define your own range of actions as an informed stakeholder in creating a sustainable future. What's more, you'll learn how to appreciate a wide range of eco-aesthetic forms that re-enchant our lives by interacting creatively with the non-human world.
Syllabus :
1. The Roots and Routes of Asian Environmental Thought
- Introduction to the MOOC
- Landscape Theory Part 1
- Landscape Theory Part 2
- Museum Rietberg Chinese Landscape Art Collection
- Shanshui in Modern Art
- Landscape and Body, Part 1
- Landscape and Body, Part 2
- Landscape and Body, Part 3: Ecosickness narratives
2. Entangled Landscapes - Chinese Garden Concepts and Global Environments
- History of Entangled Landscapes
- Chinese Gardens in Britain 1
- Chinese Gardens in Britain 2
- Chinese Literati Gardens
- Wädenswil Garden of TCM Herbs
- Demolition, Part 1
- Demolition, Part 2
- Hometown Nostalgia
- New Village Movements
- Modern Landscaping
- Shaxi Reconstruction Project
3. Indian Religious Approaches: Two Communities
- Learning Goals and Module Overview
- What is Religion?
- Religious Communities
- Introduction to Zoroastrianism
- Dokhmenashini: System and Ritual
- Conflicts and Opinions
- Outcome: Doongerwadi as Entangled Landscape
- History of Auroville
- A City as a Visionary Project for the Evolution of Mankind
- Community of a Location?
- Voices of Auroville
- Conclusions
4. Environment in India: Concepts and Socio-Economic Conditions
- Hindu Notions of Matter and Environment
- Waste, Pollution, and Cleaning
- Social Structures
- Sacred Rivers, Polluted Water
- Manual Scavenging
- Public Sanitation
- India's Economy of Waste
- Solid Waste Collectors
5. East Asian Environmentalism
- Social Movements in Japan
- Environmental Movements in Japan
- New Movements after Fukushima
- Spirit of Nuclear Energy in Japan
- China's Environmental History
- China's Environmental Modernization
- Ecodocumentaries from the Sinosphere
- Representing Animals and Problems of Speciesism
- Postcolonial Environmentalism 1: Hong Kong
- Postcolonial Environmentalism 2: Taiwan
- Conclusion
