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Programmes and Courses

Course syllabus Environment, Risk and Security: Life in the Anthropocene

Swedish name: Miljö, risk och säkerhet: att leva i antropocen

Course code:
2SS078
Valid from semester:
Spring Term 2026
Education cycle:
Second cycle
Scope:
7.5 credits
Progression:
A1N
Grading scale:
Three-grade scale
Main field of study:
Political Science with a focus on Crisis Management and International Co-operation
Department:
Department of Political Science and Law
Subject:
Political Science
Language of instruction:
The teaching is conducted in English.
Decided by:
Statsvetenskapliga institutionen
Decision date:
2025-09-04

Entry requirements

Bachelor`s degree worth 180 credits, of wich 90 credits are in Political Science or another related, relevant subject.

English proficiency equivalent to English B or English 6 is also required.

Course content and structure

The Anthropocene is a new geological epoch defined by the transformative power of humans on the plant. Unmonitored carbon emissions, non-sustainable business practices and a host of other human activities are contributing to permanent changes to the earth’s surface, biodiversity, climate and ecosystems. These and other changes to the planet has formed profound environmental risks including sea level rises, coastal erosion, severe weather systems and the extinction of species.

Crucially, the Anthropocene signifies a distinct and irreversible rupture to the earth system. The profundity of this scientific fact has far-reaching consequences for social theorising and challenges deep-seated assumptions about our world and our place within it. If the physical reality that we occupy has radically altered, then we must also re-consider how we ought to live in the Anthropocene. This course examines some emerging debates emitting out of critical reflections on the Anthropocene with a specific focus on security in an increasingly complex world of risk. How does our understanding of security and risk change when faced with the possibility of human extinction and what ethical guidelines can we adhere to or reject? What might a post-human analysis of security and risk in the Anthropocene look like? How can the practice, politics and ethics of the Anthropocene incorporate non-human and nature perspectives?

These and related questions are examined throughout the course through interactive seminars and lectures. These learning tools aim to develop the students ability to analyse and understand political, practical and ethical questions related to the environment, risk and security.

Type of Instruction


The course consists of lectures and seminars. The seminars provides the student with the possibility to develop their analytical capacity both verbally and in written form. The course concludes with an oral examination where the student has the opportunity to fulfil the learning objectives of the course.

Objectives

After completing the course the student should be able to:

 Knowledge and understanding
  • Demonstrate a critical knowledge of the main concepts of environmental risk and security particularly in its connection to the Anthropocene.

Competence and skills
  • Recognize and understand the multifaceted connections between sustainability, politics, security, and risk.

Judgement and approach
  • Recognize and demonstrate an ability to critically assess methodological implications and ethical issues related to research within the conext of the Anthropocene.

Examination formats

Assessment takes place through mandatory seminar assignments as well as a final oral examination on a given subject.

The examiner may decide to request supplementary assignments in order to achieve a passing grade on the course. Supplementary assignments must be completed no later than three working days after the notification of any supplementary assignment, unless there are special reasons approved by the examiner.

Grading


The student is graded on a three-point grading scale: Fail (U), Pass (G), Pass with distinction (VG). Grading criteria are provided at the start of the course.

To obtain the grade Pass (G), the student must obtain a grade of Pass (G) for the seminar assignments and obtain a grade of Pass (G) for the oral examination.

To obtain the grade Pass with Distinction (VG), the student must, in addition to the requirements for Pass (G), obtain a Pass with Distinction (VG) on the oral examination.

Restrictions in Number of Examinations


The number of examinations is not limited.

Transitional provisions

When the course is no longer offered or when the course content has changed substantially, the student has the right to be examined once per semester during a three-term period in accordance with this syllabus.

Other regulations

  • The course cannot be included in a degree with another course whose content fully or partially corresponds to the content of this course.
  • If the Swedish Defence University has formally decided that the student is entitled to receive special educational support due to a disability, the examiner may decide on alternative forms of examination for the student.
  • The course director will conduct an evaluation on the completion of the course, which will form the basis for any changes to the course.
Reading list decided date: 2025-02-17
Chakrabarty, D. (2015). The Anthropocene and the Convergence of Histories. In C. Hamilton, C. Bonneuil & F. Gemenne, (Eds.), The Anthropocene and the Global Environmental Crisis: Rethinking modernity in a new epoch (pp. 44-57). London; New York: Routledge. [13 pages]
Chandler, D., Cudworth, E., & Hobden, S. (2018). Anthropocene, Capitalocene and Liberal Cosmopolitan IR: A Response to Burke et al.’s ‘Planet Politics’. Millennium: Journal of International Studies, 46(2), 190-208. https://doi.org/10.1177/0305829817715247 [19 pages]
Clark, N., & Yusoff, K. (2017). Geosocial Formations and the Anthropocene. Theory, Culture & Society, 34(2-3), 3-23. https://doi.org/10.1177/0263276416688946 [24 pages]
Crutzen P.J., & Stoermer, E.F. (2000). The “Anthropocene”. Global Change Newsletter (41), 17-18 [pp.2]
Dryzek, J.S., & Pickering, J. (2019). The Politics of the Anthropocene. Oxford: Oxford University Press. [pp.163]
Fagan, M (2019) On the dangers of an Anthropocene epoch: Geological time, political time and post-human politics. Political Geography 70, 55-63 [8 pages]
Fagan, M. (2017). Security in the anthropocene: Environment, ecology, escape. European Journal of International Relations, 23(2), 292–331 [39 pages]

Fox, N. J., & Alldred, P. (2020). Sustainability, feminist posthumanism and the unusual capacities of (post)Humans. Environmental Sociology 6(2), 121–131 [10 pages]

Galaz, V. (2019). Time and Politics in the Anthropocene: Too Fast, Too Slow? In F. Biermann & E. Lövbrand, (Eds.), Anthropocene Encounters: new Directions in Green Political Thinking, (109-128). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. [19 pages]
Grove, J.V. (2019). From Exhaustion to Annihilation. A Martial Ecology of the Eurocene. In Savage Ecology (2019). Duke University Press. [30 pages]
Harrington, C. & Shearing, C. (2017). Security in the Anthropocene: Reflections on Safety and Care. Bielefeld: Transcript Verlag. [31 pages]
Head, L. (2016). Hope and Grief in the Anthropocene: Re-conceptualising human-nature relations. London; New York: Routledge. [Ch 3, 16 pages]
Hickel, J., & Kallis, G. (2020). Is Green Growth Possible? New Political Economy, 25(4), 469-486. https://doi.org/10.1080/13563467.2019.1598964 [15 pages]
Kelly, D. (2019). Politics in the Anthropocene. Cambridge: Wiley. [Introduction, pp.1-29]
Lövbrand, E., Beck, S., Chilvers, J., Forsyth, T., Hedrén, J., Hulme, M., Lidskog, R., & Vasileiadou, E. (2015). Who speaks for the future of Earth? How critical social science can extend the conversation on the Anthropocene. Global Environmental Change, 32, 211-218. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gloenvcha.2015.03.012 [7 pages]
Malm, A., & Hornborg, A. (2014). The geology of mankind? A critique of the Anthropocene narrative. The Anthropocene Review, 1(1), 62-69. [6 pages]
Northcott, M. (2015). Eschatology in the Anthropocene: From the chronos of deep time to the Kairos of the age of humans. In C. Hamilton, C. Bonneuil & F. Gemenne, (Eds.), The Anthropocene and the Global Environmental Crisis: Rethinking modernity in a new epoch (pp. 100-111). London; New York: Routledge. [11 pages]
Schapper, A. & Bliss, C. (2023). Transforming our World? Strengthening animal rights and animal welfare at the United Nations. International Relations 37(7): s. 1-24. [24 pages]
Reading list decided date: 2023-01-20
Books:

Chandler, D. (2018). Ontopolitics in the Anthropocene: An Introduction to Mapping, Sensing and Hacking. London; New York: Routledge [1-31; 187-217. 60 pages]

Dryzek, J.S., & Pickering, J. (2019). The Politics of the Anthropocene. Oxford: Oxford University Press. [pp.163]

Head, L. (2016). Hope and Grief in the Anthropocene: Re-conceptualising human-nature relations. London; New York: Routledge. [Ch 3, 16 pages]

Hollis, S. (2021). Resilience in the Pacific and the Caribbean: The Local construction of Disaster Risk Reduction. London; New York: Routledge. [pp1-27; 166-188. 49 Pages]

Joseph, J. (2018). Varieties of Resilience: Studies in Governmentality. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, pp.11-27. [16 pages]

Kelly, D. (2019). Politics in the Anthropocene. Cambridge: Wiley. [Introduction, pp.1-29]

Potts. A. & Gadenne, D. (2014) Animals in Emergencies: Learning from the Christchurch earthquakes. University of Canterbury

Articles

Crutzen P.J., & Stoermer, E.F. (2000). The “Anthropocene”. Global Change Newsletter (41), 17-18 [pp.2]

Fagan, M (2019) On the dangers of an Anthropocene epoch: Geological time, political time and post-human politics. Political Geography 70, 55-63 [8 pages]

Fagan, M. (2017). Security in the anthropocene: Environment, ecology, escape. European Journal of International Relations, 23(2), 292–331 [39 pages]

Fox, N. J., & Alldred, P. (2020). Sustainability, feminist posthumanism and the unusual capacities of (post)Humans Environmental Sociology 6(2), 121–131 [10 pages]

Book chapters

Chakrabarty, D. (2015). The Anthropocene and the Convergence of Histories. In C. Hamilton, C. Bonneuil & F. Gemenne, (Eds.), The Anthropocene and the Global Environmental Crisis: Rethinking modernity in a new epoch (pp. 44-57). London; New York: Routledge. [13 pages]

Galaz, V. (2019). Time and Politics in the Anthropocene: Too Fast, Too Slow? In F. Biermann & E. Lövbrand, (Eds.), Anthropocene Encounters: new Directions in Green Political Thinking, (109-128). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. [19 pages]

Northcott, M. (2015). Eschatology in the Anthropocene: From the chronos of deep time to the Kairos of the age of humans. In C. Hamilton, C. Bonneuil & F. Gemenne, (Eds.), The Anthropocene and the Global Environmental Crisis: Rethinking modernity in a new epoch (pp. 100-111). London; New York: Routledge. [11 pages]