Module manager: Diane Morgan
Email: findlm@leeds.ac.uk
Taught: Semester 1 (Sep to Jan) View Timetable
Year running 2025/26
This module is not approved as a discovery module
This module concentrates on what should be considered to be the burning live issue of our times: the climate crisis. It thereby necessarily addresses the attendant issues of social injustice and exploitation, neo-colonialism, war and peace… Using a range of texts, we adopt a psychotherapeutic approach which initially immerses us in a disillusioned despair about the state of the world, then moves on to a stoical acceptance of the real, so as to culminate in a final stage which attempts to find creative ways to act, to “make a difference” before it is too late. This module could interest all those who wish to reflect speculatively on what the climate crisis means whilst engaging practically with the question of how to act. Please note this is an optional module and runs subject to enrolments. If a low number of students choose this module, then the module may not run and you may be asked to choose another module.
This module focusses on the issue of the climate crisis. It aims to provide the students with the occasion to explore what this means in terms of ‘our’ relation to the world, how it changes ‘our’ spatio-temporal coordinates, how to reorientate ourselves within a radically changing world (and what resources might be of use).
As such the module aims to:
- Reflect on current cultural theory;
- Engage with contemporary artworks;
- Encourage students to think critically about what is the key existential issue of our time (the climate crisis) and how cultural production might contribute to some form of resistance to dominant tendencies;
- Provide the students with an opportunity to incorporate their own cultural experiences (e.g. visits to museums and exhibitions) into the academic programme.
On successful completion of the module students will be able to:
1. Recognise the key debates and theories underpinning the live issues in question.
2. Demonstrate an understanding of how the live issues in question are refracted through various societies, groups and individuals.
3. Assess examples of creative practice that engage with the live issues addressed.
4. Critically evaluate the possibility of a creative response to contemporary live issues.
Skills Learning Outcomes
On successful completion of the module students will be able to:
5. Perform close readings of primary texts (written and visual).
6. Engage with crucial contemporary issues in an informed way.
Details of the syllabus will be provided on the Minerva organisation (or equivalent) for the module
| Delivery type | Number | Length hours | Student hours |
|---|---|---|---|
| Supervision | 11 | 1 | 11 |
| Seminar | 10 | 2 | 20 |
| Private study hours | 169 | ||
| Total Contact hours | 31 | ||
| Total hours (100hr per 10 credits) | 200 | ||
The mid-term essay is intended as a means to get feedback to the students that will help them for the longer second piece of work that is submitted after the end of the module
| Assessment type | Notes | % of formal assessment |
|---|---|---|
| Coursework | Written | 40 |
| Coursework | Written | 60 |
| Total percentage (Assessment Coursework) | 100 | |
Normally resits will be assessed by the same methodology as the first attempt, unless otherwise stated
The reading list is available from the Library website
Last updated: 14/04/2025
Errors, omissions, failed links etc should be notified to the Catalogue Team