SEM 201: Second Year Seminar II: Human Futures

Number of Sections: 5 | Days and Times: Section A-Mondays & Wednesdays (11:40-13:20 ICT),Section B-Tuesdays & Thursdays (13:30-15:10 ICT),Section C-Tuesdays & Thursdays (09:50-11:30 ICT),Section D-Tuesdays & Thursdays (11:40-13:20 ICT),Section E-Mondays & Wednesdays (15:20-17:00 ICT)

Course Description

The four-sequenced seminar courses are part of a one mega-course (16 credits), that share the same objectives and learning outcomes. 

Sophomore Seminar II introduces students to urgent contemporary questions about our shared human future. Drawing on both literature and theory, students will be challenged to imagine and reimagine the possibilities for our collective and individual futures.

The seminar will begin by looking at notions of utopia and dystopia, placing these in the context of the present: in particular in the social and economic frameworks of capitalism. Students will explore the ways in which imagining the future throws light on our present concerns and dilemmas.

Students will build on this foundation to ask about environmental and climate concerns, as some of the most pressing issues for those concerned with human futures. They will draw on the work of scientists and storytellers to ask how we conceptualize and re-conceptualize environmental degradation and climate emergency. And they will explore how both utopian and dystopian thinking may both play a role in how we navigate the threats that face us.

The seminar course will end by exploring the role of technology in the human future, and its possible limits: from AI and robotics, to technocratic climate solutions, post-human futures, and how technological change impacts human identity.

Prerequisites: SEM 200: Second Year Seminar I