This seminar will explore emergent legal, policy-based, social, political, and moral responses to present-day climate destabilization, known as a "threat multiplier" within and across institutions and fields. Rather than lean into the problematics of climate predictions and our obligations to affected future generations, we'll concentrate on understanding the challenges that climate change is beginning to wreak on a presently-affected generation: yours.
Our collective gaze is likely to focus on such arenas of concern as the state of climate science; health science, policy, and law and the human body's heat thresholds; climate mitigation under the lenses of climate diplomacy, climate politics, and the energy transition; legal and equitable theories of recovery for present damage, injury, and harm; green community planning and climate pledges and insurance-driven red-lining threats; and the hopes, promises, and pitches of climate tech and geoengineered solutions.
Learning will be enhanced by multi-disciplinary readings and other materials, by vigorous in-class discussion, and by expert guest-participants.
I welcome students from a diversity of fields and programs into the class!
Class members will write one very brief paper, due early in the term, and a research-based paper, format-appropriate to the student's field, at the end. The latter may be a collaborative work by two or more students and it may embody a creative design, a social
purpose, or a publication aim.
Reasonable attendance will be required and no AI-assistance will be allowed.
Cohen, Jane M.