Course: Global Challenges, Local Communities: the Arts of Changing the World

The task at hand is to move away from traditional (non-profit/governmental/market) models for change towards more fluid, community-centric approaches. Situational analysis might be necessary to map where and who is …

This section introduces modes to explore what communities know, can do, and can become. With knowledge made available in these ways, we set the stage for strong collaborative action. Simply …

How do we apply systems knowledge to real problems – like building or sustaining a city? Yunkaporta’s striking picture of civilisations and cities seems to call for subversive modes of …

So far, we’ve gone from intersectional subversion of feminist academic conferences to wholescale city planning. There might be some logic to this, to foment radical feminist critiques of what has …

Are we limited (or being limited) to using the master’s tools in our fight – or do we require different tools to dismantle the structures and systems around us? This …

Carbon markets are a nuanced example of the master’s tools trying to solve an intractable problem (climate change) that we can look at with some detail. Carbon markets are economic …

This week, you will learn about different ways of thinking and alternative modes of organising (including organising yourself into teams!). We’ll start by exploring the ideas of Audre Lorde, who …

Audre Lorde (1934–1992) was, among other things, a philosopher, poet and activist. How her many identities intersected were a key part of her work in understanding how to go about …

Even with the capacity to consider theories of change, we quickly realise how the challenges we face on a global scale become ‘wicked’. The term ‘wicked problems’ was coined by …

Wicked problems can come with a sense of hopelessness. Are the goals we might hope for – along ecological, economic, or social lines – impossible under the current system that …

In our exploration of identity and its place within systems, it will help to define the terms ‘autonomy’ and ‘agency’. The video in this step explores how autonomy and agency …

We must consider systems in a nuanced way – including the ones we sit within. At a basic level, a system is a set of things working together as parts …

Political questions have often been put as, ‘What is to be done?’ (Lenin, 1901; and Jones, 2021 in Australia). One variation is, ‘What is at stake?’ – for instance, the …

Your identity has power – including over you. Identity can divide people or help them organise together, and is a key concern when facing global challenges. Here, we will review …