135
143 136
144 137
145 138
146 139
147 140
148 141
149 142
150 143
151 144
152 145
153 147
154 148
155 149
156 150
157 151
158 152
159 153
160 154
161 155
162 156
163 157
164 158
165 159
166 160
167 161
168 162
169 163
170 164
171 165
172 166
173 167
174 168
175 169
176 170
177 171
178 172
179 173
180 174
181 175
182 176
183 177
184 178
185 179
186 180
187 181
188 183
189 184
190 185
191 186
192 187
193 188
194 189
195 190
196 191
197 192
198 193
199 194
200 195
201 196
202 197
203 198
204 199
205 200
206 201
207 203
208 204
209 205
Education Set
coordinated by
Angela Barthes and Anne-Laure Le Guern
Volume 8
Towards a Political Education Through Environmental Issues
Melki Slimani
First published 2021 in Great Britain and the United States by ISTE Ltd and John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Apart from any fair dealing for the purposes of research or private study, or criticism or review, as permitted under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, this publication may only be reproduced, stored or transmitted, in any form or by any means, with the prior permission in writing of the publishers, or in the case of reprographic reproduction in accordance with the terms and licenses issued by the CLA. Enquiries concerning reproduction outside these terms should be sent to the publishers at the undermentioned address:
ISTE Ltd
27-37 St George’s Road
London SW19 4EU
UK
John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
111 River Street
Hoboken, NJ 07030
USA
© ISTE Ltd 2021
The rights of Melki Slimani to be identified as the author of this work have been asserted by him in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
Library of Congress Control Number: 2020951823
British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data
A CIP record for this book is available from the British Library
ISBN 978-1-78630-588-6
Foreword
Laying Down the Principles of Intentional Political Curricula for the Anthropocene World
Proposed in the early 2000s to researchers in the life sciences and geosciences by the geochemist Paul Crutzen, the notion of the Anthropocene seeks to emphasize the idea of anthropogenic changes, which affect all the outer layers of the planet (gases, liquids and solids) and profoundly modify its biogeophysical dynamics. Climate and biodiversity issues would be good examples of this. Such modifications would come to characterize this new geological era and thus replace the previous one, the Holocene. From a natural sciences perspective, the matter would prove controversial and be discussed within the International Commission on Stratigraphy. Nonetheless, it has paved the way for a new account of the interface between the social history of humans and the natural history of the planet (Beau and Larrère 2018).
The questions that subsequently arise are not straightforward and require an ability to master systematic thought and make a collective decision in an uncertain situation: what should be done about tipping points, the irreversibility of climate change, the erosion of biodiversity, profound changes in biogeochemical cycles and the limits of the planet (Rockström et al. 2009a, 2009b)? Based on proposed theories, how can we date and ascertain the origin of this new era, that is, the beginning of agriculture, the conquest of America, the invention of the steam engine and the edging towards overconsumption during the second wave of globalization? The answers to these questions require that we develop new theories and appropriate new knowledge, but they also concern fundamental issues. Anthropological answers include the links between culture and nature which condition our capacity to address the challenges posed at the risk of relegating humanity to one of its constituent areas (the North, the West, etc.; see Descola 2019). Yet there are also sociological answers, which refer to the relations