I was first drawn to this class because of a previous discussion I had last year around humans and nature. Essentially, this discussion was–and because of its infinite structure, is–founded on the concept that as humans, we have claimed the title of “Takers” (a concept discussed in length in Daniel Quinn’s Ishmael). Humans, for various reasons, often hold the belief that we are greater than nature and thus have the right to command it. According to this ideology, the “slash” in the course’s title would refer more to the thick, bold line in a comparative function with “human” dominating the top of the hierarchy, reigning over the subversive “nature.”
And so, as Takers we have stumbled–or rather mandated–or way into the Anthropocene. Of course, there are pros and cons to this “age of humans.” However, I cannot help but wonder what state the earth would be in if we viewed our relationship as more symbiotic than divided. Seminars like last Tuesday’s put me in an inquisitive state, searching for and then asking bigger and better questions. I wonder, as a person of a certain socio-economic class, what role do I play in environmental justice? What role should we play in human/nature?