This text is part of the special Research section: climate issues
Faced with climate change and its increasingly visible effects, many young people are paralyzed by eco-anxiety. At McGill, a course aims to inspire hope and equip students to face climate change.
“We had been thinking about this course for years, which is part of McGill University’s strategic sustainable development objectives,” says Marcy Slapcoff, director of the Office of Science Education in the McGill Faculty of Science. Just before the pandemic, she was entrusted by the dean of the Faculty of Sciences with the responsibility of imagining (and building a team to do so) an undergraduate course on climate change, open to all the students.
After more than a year of regular meetings with a team of teachers from various disciplines (and despite the slowdown imposed by the pandemic), the students were finally able to attend the first edition of the optional course FSCI 198:Climate Crisis and Climate Actions in the fall of 2022. “We wanted to imagine a course that would give hope to young people, and which would offer tools to act to combat the climate crisis,” summarizes Mme Slapcoff.
A multiple point of view
Offered by the Faculty of Science, the course begins its second edition this fall, and this time is offered in person. “We changed the course a little this year,” notes Diane Dechief, course director and coordinator, and instructor. Thus, in addition to taking stock of the climate crisis and what science says about it, as well as providing keys to action, the course further integrates varied and multidisciplinary perspectives. “For example, we want to explain the history of colonialism and capitalism, and how that contributes to what we experience today,” notes the science communication specialist at the Office of Science Education. “We want to give students concrete knowledge (actionable knowledge)which can be used later in the course, but also in their everyday life,” continues Mme Dechief.
The three-credit course, given by a team of five teachers from several disciplines (history, education, biology, earth sciences, social sciences, etc.), addresses in particular the questions of ecoanxiety, renewable resources, the cycle of carbon, all with particular attention to indigenous knowledge as a backdrop. This interdisciplinarity in the course is also a reflection of the way in which the climate crisis must be addressed.
Lectures of three hours per week are held in person, but the fifty students are divided into smaller groups, each accompanied by two teaching assistants, to continue the discussions online. “We are inspired by the work of Katharine Hayhoe, who advocates creating opportunities for conversation,” explains M.me Dechief. “Everyone brings to the conversation; everyone carries knowledge, and no one has all the answers,” she adds.
A vision for the future
Faced with such paralyzing events, the designers of this course encourage dialogue and meetings with inspiring people, particularly through the assignments to be submitted. For example, students have the task of interviewing a person affected by climate change or a knowledge holder as part of a job. Speakers who are drivers of action in their field are also regularly invited.
Until the course is attached to one or more programs (which would ensure its sustainability), it remains open as an optional course. The co-leaders hope that as many students as possible will have access to the course, a real gateway to climate issues and the research on the issue carried out at McGill and elsewhere. “I would like this course to create a spark — not only to arouse students’ interest, but also to give them the taste and ability to act,” concludes M.me Slapcoff.
Lab22: supporting secondary education
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