STS 106 - Philosophical & Contemporary Issues

Semester Offered: Spring
1 unit(s)

Topic for 2019/20b: Biopower in the Age of the Anthropocene. (Same as ENST 106 and PHIL 106) This course examines the notion of biopower in the historical, geological, and geopolitical period identified as the anthropocene. Quite simply: what is the relation between the human animal and their environment? What does one choose to include in their environment? Michel Foucault identified biopower as the power to foster life and disallow it to the point of death. The anthropocene, as contemporary buzzword and historical designation, is recognized as the period in which humans have been seen as playing a significant part in affecting the ecological and climatic systems. The anthropocene is the proposed name for the period of anthropogenic climate change. How is life fostered or disallowed during this period? What sorts of life are promoted and what are the ways in which one should approach life? As a way of dealing with this spatially, historically, and conceptually expansive topic, the course focuses on specific case studies. Particular policies addressed include: the New Green Deal, Health Care and Resource Allocation in the United States, the Management or Mismanagement of Refugees of Climate Catastrophes, and the Distribution of Health Care Globally. Osman Nemli.

Two 75-minute periods.

Course Format: CLS