ANTH3300 — Climate-Energy Justice
Energy and human culture shape each other, establishing the possibilities for how we live, work, play, think, and imagine together. Over the past 200 years, fossil fuels have sculpted our energy domains; and command economies with corporate and mega-institutional actors have extracted and centralized the wealth these systems offer, leaving a climate catastrophe in their wake. As the 21st century unfolds, we need to re-imagine and re-build energy systems that bring community health and wealth-building dynamics. This arts-integrated course provides a basic understanding of the energy transition required under the global Paris Climate Agreement and the variety of ways a just energy transition is happening and envisioned around the world. Students use this background to research the local energy transition efforts in our NE Minnesota region. Students plan an annual “Duluth Power Dialog” (DPD) that brings public artists, local energy activists, and energy engineers together to envision and discuss what climate-energy justice looks like in our region. With a focus on energy democracy and the local world-making potential of solar energy, students host a civic conversation to explore and celebrate what a just energy transition looks like in the Duluth community. prereq: minimum 30 credits