In this class, we will examine Roman society through the lens of its complex engagement with the natural world. For the Romans, the natural world exists as a resource to be exploited, fuel for the imagination of Roman authors, a challenge to societal development, and a site of demonstrating imperial power. Through readings on topics ranging from Roman gardens to beast fights to military engineering, students will discuss and reflect on the Romans’ relationship with the world around them and what we can learn from the Roman world as we approach the natural world today.

This course interrogates anthropocentrism and human/nonhuman animal relations through a specialized, eceocritical and ecofeminist analysis of theoretical, visual and literary texts. This program will visit the Andean highlands as well as the Galapagos archipelago.

This course will engage with the diverse range of African experiences in the Atlantic world from the 15th century to the present. Students will examine economic, political, cultural, and social transformations in Cabo Verde and West Africa more broadly to gain a greater understanding of slavery and its afterlives in the Atlantic world

The course will cover subjects not listed in the regular curriculum and may vary from year to year; taught by Asian Studies faculty and visiting faculty. .25 or 1 unit - Chandrani, Lasmawan, Mehta, Onishi, Otake, Pizarro, Smith, Wang, Weaver, Williams.

This course explores how Japanese literature and cinema engage with environmental themes, offering a window into cultural attitudes toward nature, ecological crises, and human relationships with the non-human world. From postwar literature reflecting on the destruction of World War II to contemporary films addressing climate change and urbanization, students will examine how Japanese fiction and film grapple with environmental concerns in ways that challenge, critique, and reimagine societal values. Discussions will be framed by interdisciplinary theories of ecocriticism, environmental justice, and the Anthropocene, with a particular focus on how Japanese cultural contexts shape environmental discourse.

The course will cover subjects not listed in the regular curriculum and may vary from year to year; taught by Asian Studies faculty and visiting faculty. .25 or 1 unit - Chandrani, Lasmawan, Mehta, Onishi, Otake, Pizarro, Smith, Wang, Weaver, Williams.

This course interrogates anthropocentrism and human/nonhuman animal relations through a specialized, ecocritical and ecofeminist analysis of theoretical, visual and literary texts. In many European and Judeo-Christian representations, the nonhuman animal is subjected to the human, and represented as the carrier of a 'value' or 'message' applicable to the human world. In such cultural texts and artifacts, nonhuman animals tend to not be seen, represented, understood as equals, and/or as members of a completely difference species holding value per se, having abilities and skills not directly exploitable in the anthropocentric world. Recent theory has instead voiced the importance of including analyses of the nonhuman vis--vis existing analyses questioning colonialism and exploitations based on religion, gender, race, political ideas. Based on these theoretical readings, we will ask: Which discriminatory mechanisms, which power structures apply, similarly or even identically, to nonhumans and to minority, colonized, discriminated groups? How in turn have some minority groups (such as indigenous people) have fought to include land and animal rights in their own battle for full recognition as equal political subjects? We will work actively as a group and individually to identify the cultural discourses enabling domination and exploitation of nonhuman animals, along other subtler instances of anthropocentrism and speciesism. We will then try to leave behind our anthropocentrism and to come up with creative solutions for a more just interspecies world

This course explores the intersection of storytelling and environmental restoration through landscape design. Students will engage in the practice of 'storied landscape' design—a model for healing both individuals and nature. By integrating collaborative storytelling and design principles, students will learn how to create living habitats that provide both emotional solace and ecological renewal. The course emphasizes the transformative power of art and design in fostering personal healing, while also promoting conservation and sustainability. Students will develop skills in landscape design, environmental ethics, and visual storytelling, with a focus on how landscapes can serve as restorative spaces. Through the creation of these intimate, life-affirming environments, students will explore the role of nature in emotional and societal healing and learn how personal connections to the natural world can inspire collective action for a healthier planet.