Exploring posthuman pedagogies: the practice and ethics of decentring the human

Philosophical posthumanism attempts to decentre the human so that in a world dominated by humanity we can learn to understand the complex interdependencies in which we are embroiled. This paper examines the practice of decentring the human as an ethical pedagogical method for environmental education working with two posthumanist pedagogies, firstly Taylor’s (2013) common worlds and secondly Lenz Taguchi’s (2010) intra-active pedagogy. Instances of decentring are drawn from researching the practices of the Manchester Environmental Education Network (MEEN), an environmental education charity working with inner-city schools on the ‘Workshops for Wildlife’ project. As encounters with other beings can be unpredictable the project included pupils’ stories of animal encounters. But can such tales decentre humans into re-imagining ethical human/animal relations? Working with the ethics of encounter, inclusion and diffractive methods this paper explores how responsive pedagogical practices decentre the human

In it together! Cultivating space for intergenerational dialogue, empathy and hope in a climate of uncertainty

The urgent and interlocking social, economic and ecological crises faced by societies around the world require dialogue, empathy and above all, hope that transcends social divides. At a time of uncertainty and crisis, many societies are divided, with distrust and divides exacerbated by media representations pitting different groups against one another. Acknowledging intersectional interrelationships, this collaborative paper considers one type of social distinction – generation – and focuses on how trust can be rebuilt across generations. To do this, we collate key insights from eight projects that shared space within a conference session foregrounding creative, intergenerational responses to the climate and related crises. Prompted by a set of reflective questions, presenters commented on the methodological resources that were co-developed in intergenerational research and action spaces. Most of the work outlined was carried out in the UK, situated in challenges that are at once particular to local contexts, and systematic of a wider malaise that requires intergenerational collaboration. Reflecting across the projects, we suggest fostering ongoing, empathetic dialogues across generations is key to addressing these challenges of the future, securing communities that are grounded as collaborative and culturally responsive, and resilient societies able to adapt to and mitigate the impacts of change

Beyond imagining: enacting intergenerational response-ability as world-building – commentary to Bowman

This Reflection considers Bowman’s call to researchers to respond to young peoples’ concerns about the climate crisis as a "world-building project" suggesting that researchers can support young people by helping them imagine the future. Drawing on the work of Barad and Haraway, I want to widen the call by suggesting that researchers need to respond to the climate crisis through enactments of mutual response-ability. The challenge is how adults concerned with the climate crisis can work alongside young people to promote and create effective change. But more than that it is about researchers, universities, and others making change. Young people are protesting because they want adults to secure their future: the important question is how we best do this