Teaching English in the Anthropocene
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| Title: | Teaching English in the Anthropocene |
|---|---|
| Language: | English |
| Authors: | Sean P. Connors |
| Source: | English Journal. 2025 114(3):34-40. |
| Availability: | National Council of Teachers of English. 1111 West Kenyon Road, Urbana, IL 61801-1096. Tel: 877-369-6283; Tel: 217-328-3870; Web site: http://www.ncte.org/journals |
| Peer Reviewed: | Y |
| Page Count: | 7 |
| Publication Date: | 2025 |
| Document Type: | Journal Articles Reports - Evaluative |
| Descriptors: | English Instruction, World Problems, Depleted Resources, Natural Resources, Pollution, Climate, Adolescent Literature, Social Justice |
| DOI: | 10.58680/ej2025114334 |
| ISSN: | 0013-8274 2161-8895 |
| Abstract: | We live in what a growing number of scientists call the Anthropocene. Combining the Greek root word anthrop- (human) and the suffix -cene (new or recent), the Anthropocene is a period of time in which human activity is understood to have grown so impactful as to alter Earth's conditions. Examples of these planetary changes include (but are not limited to) a loss of biodiversity due to agriculture and land development, deforestation, ocean acidification, mass extinctions, air and water pollution, an accumulation of plastics and microplastics on land and sea, widespread use of "forever chemicals," and a rapidly changing climate that scientists attribute to the burning of fossil fuels, which emits carbon into the atmosphere. English teachers can invite students to grapple with an ethical question in examining a challenge the Anthropocene poses: How can we live productively alongside others--humans, nonhuman animals, plants, and vegetation--on our rapidly warming planet? Investigating questions such as this one need not lead teachers and students away from the English curriculum. Quite the opposite--as students read, write, and talk with others in the service of deepening their understanding of climate change and other environmental topics, they expand their social imagination, which Greene (1995) defines as "the capacity to invent visions of what should be and what might be in our deficient society" (p. 5). To demonstrate how this is the case and how examining environmental topics such as climate change aligns with the scope and concerns of English education, the author argues that: (1) environmental justice and social justice are interrelated; (2) stories shape our understanding of our commitments to other people, animals, and the earth; and (3) contemporary young adult (YA) literature offers a valuable resource that teachers and students can use to interrogate the complexities of life in the Anthropocene. |
| Abstractor: | ERIC |
| Entry Date: | 2025 |
| Accession Number: | EJ1467257 |
| Database: | ERIC |
| Abstract: | We live in what a growing number of scientists call the Anthropocene. Combining the Greek root word anthrop- (human) and the suffix -cene (new or recent), the Anthropocene is a period of time in which human activity is understood to have grown so impactful as to alter Earth's conditions. Examples of these planetary changes include (but are not limited to) a loss of biodiversity due to agriculture and land development, deforestation, ocean acidification, mass extinctions, air and water pollution, an accumulation of plastics and microplastics on land and sea, widespread use of "forever chemicals," and a rapidly changing climate that scientists attribute to the burning of fossil fuels, which emits carbon into the atmosphere. English teachers can invite students to grapple with an ethical question in examining a challenge the Anthropocene poses: How can we live productively alongside others--humans, nonhuman animals, plants, and vegetation--on our rapidly warming planet? Investigating questions such as this one need not lead teachers and students away from the English curriculum. Quite the opposite--as students read, write, and talk with others in the service of deepening their understanding of climate change and other environmental topics, they expand their social imagination, which Greene (1995) defines as "the capacity to invent visions of what should be and what might be in our deficient society" (p. 5). To demonstrate how this is the case and how examining environmental topics such as climate change aligns with the scope and concerns of English education, the author argues that: (1) environmental justice and social justice are interrelated; (2) stories shape our understanding of our commitments to other people, animals, and the earth; and (3) contemporary young adult (YA) literature offers a valuable resource that teachers and students can use to interrogate the complexities of life in the Anthropocene. |
|---|---|
| ISSN: | 0013-8274 2161-8895 |
| DOI: | 10.58680/ej2025114334 |
