Sustainable Development in/of the French-Speaking World
Taught at: Colby College
Last taught: Spring 2022
In the 21st century, urban populations around the world have continued to grow, all while the climate crisis has become ever more urgent. The fact that more than 55% of Earth’s inhabitants live in urban settings today means that cities will be important actors in the fight against climate change moving forward. In this course, we will examine how cities from throughout the French-speaking world (including in North America, the Caribbean, Europe, and Africa, as well as along the Pacific Rim) are enacting solutions for sustainable living. Taking an approach that blends the environmental humanities with cultural studies, we will examine a variety of sources—including literary and philosophical texts, short and feature- length movies, documentaries, press articles, academic analyses, websites, and government documents—to understand the challenges each of these cities faces and the solutions each has introduced. In so doing, we will study how site-specific realities, such as (eco)tourism, the legacies of colonialism and imperialism, relations with indigenous peoples, and inequalities (such as those of race, sex, gender expression, class, age, and ability), are interwoven with questions of sustainable development and ecological living. This course will also include a digital humanities project and an introduction to DH.