Can you talk to Timothy Snyder about how his History of Ukraine course at Yale got videotaped and each class posted on YouTube? We could all audit the course (and pitch in a few $ for Tufts/Fletcher).
This looks really interesting. If I can offer one note, you should give a little more thought to your list of apocalypses that fizzled. The first two (Malthus and Club of Rome) are good. The last one (Mayan calendar - MC for short) seems a little fringe to me. It's not clear that "many" people ever seriously believed in it, unless you set the bar for "many" unreasonably low. More importantly, the MC apocalypse was different from the other two inasmuch as the first two had a rational basis that the MC lacked. In other words, there's not much of a lesson to be learned from the MC story because it was always kind of kooky (and most people recognized it as such at the time); whereas, Malthus had a plausible argument.
I was also going to say that Y2K doesn't belong on the list because it was a real problem that came to nothing in the end only because we rolled up our sleeves and solved it. However, on further reflection, I think there's a valid lesson there too, viz., that sometimes the apocalypse isn't something that just happens. Sometimes it's a choice, and we can choose not to have an apocalypse. There are clear parallels to the climate change crisis here, since we've known for a long time what we have to do to solve that one.
Perhaps it's worth taking a short detour into a typology of apocalypses. I can think of two obvious dimensions: how much of the problem is under our control, and how firm the deadline for action is. The two-axis chart has become a cliché, to the point of being cringeworthy, but maybe there are some additional dimensions to consider.
Anyway, as I said, looks like great stuff. The reading list alone is pure gold. I envy your students.
This brings to mind for me an online slide show from maybe 15 years ago fixed in my mind about “the collapse gap” - how the USSR was structurally resistant to political collapse in ways that the USA was completely and totally not. I don’t think that’s changed too much.
I do agree with Orlov’s model that system collapse can create social and societal collapse. For most industrial and nonagrarian societies, it can be a sobering reminder of how much of our lifestyle is dependent on interlocking systems. Any moderate global shock can be more devastating than would be otherwise predicted, I feel.
"Resilience.org is a program of Post Carbon Institute (PCI). From 2004 to 2012 the site was known as “Energy Bulletin.” Over the years Energy Bulletin broadened its coverage from peak oil and energy to include other resource depletion, related issues, and articles which describe, encourage or educate on meaningful responses — in essence, the task of building resilience. From this came the inspiration to create resilience.org."
For your section on accidental nuclear war (or the previous section) you might consider Sundeep Waslekar's 2022 book 'A world without war' (published in English for the Indian market by Harper Collins)
I'd also be interested in a podcast of suggested supplemental movies, books, and TV shows to go with the course material. As I read the post, I kept thinking of Neal Stephenson's Seveneves for some reason
Will your students have a final writing assignment like "how you would prevent the end of the world" or "how you would bring about the end of the world faster so we get it over with" or maybe something more positive?
An excellent resource to dip into, even for a pre-boomer slacker. Just scanning this is oddly comforting. It's not all about us. OTOH, time to wake up.
Can you talk to Timothy Snyder about how his History of Ukraine course at Yale got videotaped and each class posted on YouTube? We could all audit the course (and pitch in a few $ for Tufts/Fletcher).
I want to audit this course. Looks amazing!
Let me guess...you mentioned Trump 4,026 times.
This looks really interesting. If I can offer one note, you should give a little more thought to your list of apocalypses that fizzled. The first two (Malthus and Club of Rome) are good. The last one (Mayan calendar - MC for short) seems a little fringe to me. It's not clear that "many" people ever seriously believed in it, unless you set the bar for "many" unreasonably low. More importantly, the MC apocalypse was different from the other two inasmuch as the first two had a rational basis that the MC lacked. In other words, there's not much of a lesson to be learned from the MC story because it was always kind of kooky (and most people recognized it as such at the time); whereas, Malthus had a plausible argument.
I was also going to say that Y2K doesn't belong on the list because it was a real problem that came to nothing in the end only because we rolled up our sleeves and solved it. However, on further reflection, I think there's a valid lesson there too, viz., that sometimes the apocalypse isn't something that just happens. Sometimes it's a choice, and we can choose not to have an apocalypse. There are clear parallels to the climate change crisis here, since we've known for a long time what we have to do to solve that one.
Perhaps it's worth taking a short detour into a typology of apocalypses. I can think of two obvious dimensions: how much of the problem is under our control, and how firm the deadline for action is. The two-axis chart has become a cliché, to the point of being cringeworthy, but maybe there are some additional dimensions to consider.
Anyway, as I said, looks like great stuff. The reading list alone is pure gold. I envy your students.
I echo this: "looks like great stuff. The reading list alone is pure gold. I envy your students."
I'll recommend a novel addressing the "climate apocalypse" (see section XVI of the syllabus) and what humans could conceivably do about it: "The Ministry For the Future" by Kim Stanley Robinson. https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/50998056-the-ministry-for-the-future
This brings to mind for me an online slide show from maybe 15 years ago fixed in my mind about “the collapse gap” - how the USSR was structurally resistant to political collapse in ways that the USA was completely and totally not. I don’t think that’s changed too much.
I do agree with Orlov’s model that system collapse can create social and societal collapse. For most industrial and nonagrarian societies, it can be a sobering reminder of how much of our lifestyle is dependent on interlocking systems. Any moderate global shock can be more devastating than would be otherwise predicted, I feel.
Don't worry, Jeffrey Epstein saved us all with his email order child rape practice!
Ah it’s still there
https://www.resilience.org/stories/2006-12-04/closing-collapse-gap-ussr-was-better-prepared-collapse-us/
Oof. That was not great to begin with and has not aged well.
Dug down to the bottom of that rabbit hole.
"Resilience.org is a program of Post Carbon Institute (PCI). From 2004 to 2012 the site was known as “Energy Bulletin.” Over the years Energy Bulletin broadened its coverage from peak oil and energy to include other resource depletion, related issues, and articles which describe, encourage or educate on meaningful responses — in essence, the task of building resilience. From this came the inspiration to create resilience.org."
https://www.resilience.org/about-resilience/
You people are climate lunatics.
Enjoy your pool. #quantumphysics
I don't see the end of US democracy as the end of the world. But it's more probable and nearer in time than most of others. And when I tried to think about what comes next, I didn't come up with much. https://crookedtimber.org/2022/01/30/the-end-of-american-democracy-is-unimaginable/
This is great.
For your section on accidental nuclear war (or the previous section) you might consider Sundeep Waslekar's 2022 book 'A world without war' (published in English for the Indian market by Harper Collins)
I'll buy the book.
I'd also be interested in a podcast of suggested supplemental movies, books, and TV shows to go with the course material. As I read the post, I kept thinking of Neal Stephenson's Seveneves for some reason
You forgot the 500-year period in which the lights went out on civilization in Europe, aka the Dark Ages. Yep, really happened.
The phrase "the end of the world" is misleading. The physical Earth, that is, the planet, will not end with the exinction of Homo sapiens.
Except that “darkness” has been overblown by people who came after with an agenda. This is a good book on the topic: https://slate.com/culture/2021/12/medieval-history-revised-review-of-the-book-the-bright-ages.html
Will your students have a final writing assignment like "how you would prevent the end of the world" or "how you would bring about the end of the world faster so we get it over with" or maybe something more positive?
Looks fun! I wonder if there is room In either the pandemic section or final sections for “pandemic amnesia”. It will likely play a large role in efforts to prevent future health emergencies https://pandemichistories.ca/reflections-on-pandemic-history-post-covid-19/
An excellent resource to dip into, even for a pre-boomer slacker. Just scanning this is oddly comforting. It's not all about us. OTOH, time to wake up.