Postgraduate Course: Other-than-human Futures: theories, applications, and speculations (ARCH11294)
Course Outline
| School | Edinburgh College of Art |
College | College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences |
| Credit level (Normal year taken) | SCQF Level 11 (Postgraduate) |
Availability | Available to all students |
| SCQF Credits | 20 |
ECTS Credits | 10 |
| Summary | This course introduces students to theories of posthumanism in a variety of disciplines including geography, anthropology, and science and technology studies. Through a combination of lectures and seminar discussions students will be given the tools with which to interpret current and historical events, as well as to speculate on future imaginaries through an other-than-human lens. |
| Course description |
In this course, we will utilise an interdisciplinary other-than-human perspective to explore fundamental questions about the rights of nature (also known as nature's rights or earth rights) and the agency of other-than-human beings in the landscape. We will consider how these frameworks relate to the organisation, design, and construction of the built environment. Students will be exposed to a range of interdisciplinary sources covering various ways in which the other-than-human world intersects with the systems of the built environment. We will take a broad understanding of the built environment, encompassing topics such as landscape, urbanism, architecture, and infrastructure.
Through a comprehensive selection of readings, students will develop an understanding of interdisciplinary theories of posthumanism (for example, literature from geography, anthropology, and science and technology studies) from both Western and non-Western intellectual traditions. This reading of posthuman theories will serve as a discursive foundation through which students will critically analyse case studies that feature the manifestation of nature's rights in different situations, including varying national, religious, cultural, ontological, and legal contexts. These will include topics such as the granting of legal personhood to the Whanganui River in Aotearoa (New Zealand) in 2017, and the constitutional right of Pachamama in Ecuador since 2008.
The course is structured into three parts which build upon each other: (1) the first introduces students to theories of posthumanism; (2) the second uses posthuman theoretical approaches to analyse how nature's rights have been materially exercised historically; (3) finally, students will be asked to creatively and critically explore how the idea of nature's rights might evolve in the future or inform future imaginaries through the creation of a zine. The rich artistic tradition of zine-making will be covered to help students develop a critical understanding of the form, including its value for combining theoretical and propositional work as a creative output. Students will also have opportunities to visit the Zine and Artists Books collection in the ECA library and the Edinburgh Zine Library.
The first parts of the course will consist of weekly lectures and seminar discussions. In the final weeks, students will be offered tutorials to help develop their coursework. There will be weekly 2-hour lectures and 1-hour seminar discussions, which will also include peer-learning in the form of student presentations.
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Entry Requirements (not applicable to Visiting Students)
| Pre-requisites |
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Co-requisites | |
| Prohibited Combinations | |
Other requirements | None |
| Additional Costs | This Course does not require any additional costs to be met by the Student.
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Information for Visiting Students
| Pre-requisites | None |
| High Demand Course? |
Yes |
Course Delivery Information
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| Academic year 2025/26, Available to all students (SV1)
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Quota: 0 |
| Course Start |
Semester 1 |
Timetable |
Timetable |
| Learning and Teaching activities (Further Info) |
Total Hours:
200
(
Lecture Hours 22,
Seminar/Tutorial Hours 11,
Feedback/Feedforward Hours 2,
Formative Assessment Hours 2,
Programme Level Learning and Teaching Hours 4,
Directed Learning and Independent Learning Hours
159 )
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| Additional Information (Learning and Teaching) |
PGT students should take the L11 version of the course (not the L10 version).
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| Assessment (Further Info) |
Written Exam
0 %,
Coursework
100 %,
Practical Exam
0 %
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| Additional Information (Assessment) |
This course has 2 assessment components.
1) Presentation (5-10min) 30%, due in weeks 4-5 assessed against LO1 and LO2.
2) Zine (3,000 words curated into a visual document) 70%, due in December exam diet - assessed against LO3 and LO4.
Zine: To help students with making a zine, we will look at examples in class and discuss possible workflows including both analogue and digital options. Students wishing to produce analogue or mixed-media zines may use the facilities provided in the ECA print workshop. For students who prefer to work digitally, ECA Digital Media Skills offers workshops on bookmaking software, including InDesign, which is available for free to ECA students.
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| Feedback |
Formative Feedback
(1) Presentation: Students will be given the opportunity to rehearse their presentation ideas during seminars. The written summative feedback from the presentation also acts as formative feedback to aid the develop of the zine, ensuring that students have a good understanding of core concepts surrounding posthumanism which will form the theoretical basis for the final zine.
(2) Zine: Students will receive verbal feedback on a draft or outline during individual tutorials taking place in week 9-11 to help them develop their final zine. Individual tutorials will also offer an opportunity for clarification and discussion of feedback from the presentation.
Summative Feedback
(1) Presentation: Written feedback on the presentation will be provided within three weeks of presentation date, giving ample time for feedback to inform work on the zine.
(2) Zine: Written feedback will be provided on the final zine submission, as per University regulations.
All feedback will be delivered by the course organiser.
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| No Exam Information |
Learning Outcomes
On completion of this course, the student will be able to:
- Express a critical understanding of posthuman theory as an interdisciplinary discourse
- Critically apply interdisciplinary theoretical texts to real-life case study(s)
- Articulate a complex theoretical position relating to posthumanism
- Synthesize propositional and speculative ideas supported by posthuman theory
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Reading List
Barad, Karen. Meeting the Universe Halfway: Quantum Physics and the Entanglement of Matter and Meaning. Duke University Press, 2007.
Haraway, Donna J. Staying with the Trouble: Making Kin in the Chthulucene. Duke University Press, 2016.
Ferdinand, Malcom. Decolonial Ecology: Thinking from the Caribbean World. Translated by Anthony Paul Smith. 1st edition. Cambridge: Polity, 2021.
Kimmerer, Robin Wall. Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge and the Teachings of Plants. Milkweed Editions, 2013.
Moore, Jason W. Capitalism in the Web of Life: Ecology and the Accumulation of Capital. Verso Books, 2015. |
Additional Information
| Graduate Attributes and Skills |
Outlook and engagement: By studying and learning about different real-world case-studies of nature's rights, you will develop an informed international perspective from which to contribute positively, ethically and respectfully.
Research and enquiry: This course will help you build confidence in reading and interpreting theoretical texts in order to identify and creatively tackle problems, and to seek out opportunities for further learning.
Personal and intellectual autonomy: By analysing, exploring, and interpreting theories of posthumanism as they relate to current and historical events, you will develop your independent critical thinking in an open minded and reasonable perspective.
Communication: Become a better communicator by developing academic writing and verbal presentation skills in order to enhance your understanding of a topic and to engage effectively with others. |
| Keywords | posthumanism,landscape,other-than-human nature,environmental humanities,speculative futures |
Contacts
| Course organiser | Ms Tiffany Dang
Tel:
Email: tdang@ed.ac.uk |
Course secretary | Ms Louisa King
Tel: (01316) 502306
Email: Louisa.King@ed.ac.uk |
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