Geographic Education in the Anthropocene: Cultivating Citizens at the Neoliberal University

Abstract

In the Anthropocene, the charge to address climate change has been taken up by youth. From the landmark climate lawsuit filed in 2015 by twenty-one young people to secure the legal right to a safe climate to the thousands of climate marches and school strikes that took place in 2018 and 2019, young people are making their voices heard. Many undergraduate students enter universities passionate about solving problems related to the changing climate; however, they arrive at a site of conflicting values about education. As the university increasingly treats students as customers, the ability to educate and foster a new generation of climate change–informed and action-oriented citizens is challenged. In this article, we ask how we cultivate citizens in the geography classroom in the Anthropocene. Drawing on our experience cocreating and teaching a climate change and food security class for sophomores, we examine this question to understand the place of geographic education in the neoliberal university in the Anthropocene. Here, we detail an example of coteaching and using a problem-based learning task based on pressing climate change issues as a way of modeling and practicing problem solving that reinforces students’ identification as agents who can act in a climate-changing world. We find that teaching from both a climate science and social or cultural perspective is an important component of students considering where they fit in the Anthropocene. In this article, we offer a model for geography educators for integrative educational experiences, translating student passion for solving problems into momentum toward change.

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