As an Undergraduate Humanities (Cultural Studies; Literature; History) teacher, you can use this lesson plan as part of a course in Environmental Geography, Environmental History, General Criticism and Critical Theory.
‘The Great Derangement: Climate Change and the Unthinkable’, by Ghosh can be used to acquaint students with environmental history of the planet and in India in particular. This work along with the debates generated by Dipesh Chakrabarty’s 2009 essay, ‘The Climate of History: Four Theses’ can be used as texts to better situate the topic of climate change in the humanities classroom. In this lesson plan students will review Ghosh’s book based on the theme of climate change in India. It includes writings on the stories, history and politics related to one of the most critical issues of our times.
Thus, the use of this lesson plan allows you to integrate the teaching of a climate science topic with a core topic in Humanities.
As an Undergraduate Humanities (Cultural Studies; Literature; History) teacher, you can use this lesson plan as part of a course in Environmental Geography, Environmental History, General Criticism and Critical Theory.
‘The Great Derangement: Climate Change and the Unthinkable’, by Ghosh can be used to acquaint students with environmental history of the planet and in India in particular. This work along with the debates generated by Dipesh Chakrabarty’s 2009 essay, ‘The Climate of History: Four Theses’ can be used as texts to better situate the topic of climate change in the humanities classroom. In this lesson plan students will review Ghosh’s book based on the theme of climate change in India. It includes writings on the stories, history and politics related to one of the most critical issues of our times.
Thus, the use of this lesson plan allows you to integrate the teaching of a climate science topic with a core topic in Humanities.
The tools in this lesson plan will enable students to:
Lesson plan contributed by Dr Maya Dodd, FLAME University, Pune, India.
Want to know more about how to contribute? Contact us.
Lesson plan contributed by Dr Maya Dodd, FLAME University, Pune, India.
Want to know more about how to contribute? Contact us.
| Grade Level | Undergraduate |
| Discipline | Humanities |
| Topic(s) in Discipline | Cultural Studies, Literature, Literary Analysis, English, Storytelling, Cli-Fi, Environmental Geography, Environmental History, General Criticism, Critical Theory, Climate Literature, Non-fiction, Fiction- Speculative, Realism, Epic, Documentary, Narrative, Historicization |
| Climate Topic | Climate and the Anthroposphere |
| Location | Global, Asia, India |
| Language(s) | English |
| Access | Online / offline |
| Approximate Time Required | 1-2 sessions of 45 min |
| Share | |
| Resource Download |
Here is a step-by-step guide to using this lesson plan in the classroom/laboratory. We have suggested these steps as a possible plan of action. You may customize the lesson plan according to your preferences and requirements.
. Reading (7 min)
Use the article in The Guardian by author Amitav Ghosh, ‘Amitav Ghosh: where is the fiction about climate change?’ to discuss his views on the evolution of the narrative in novels and why it has been resistant to include the topic of climate change. Use the text to explain how climate fiction (Cli-Fi) differs from science fiction (Sci-Fi) in the treatment of the narrative. Explain how fiction derived from climate change deviates from trends of ‘gradualism’ in contemporary narratives and yet does not belong to ‘surrealism’ and ‘magic realism’ due to its nature of being ‘real’. Thus, use the reading to emphasize the difficulty of writing about the nature of climate change and why it does not yet have a large presence in fictional works of the literary world.
Reading (5 min)
Use the write-up on author Amitav Ghosh’s website as an introduction to his non-fiction book, ‘The Great Derangement: Climate Change and the Unthinkable’. Begin by discussing the title of the book- what is the ‘great derangement’ and why is climate change ‘unthinkable’ according to Ghosh. Use the brief text to introduce the different sections of this non-fiction book- literature, history and politics.
Finally, ask your students to read the non-fiction book, ‘The Great Derangement: Climate Change and the Unthinkable’ as a home assignment. Note that the book will have to be procured for this assignment. Instruct them to makes notes of the key points and arguments presented whilst reading the book.
Video (~25 min
Play the video, “A Conversation on Amitav Ghosh’s ‘The Great Derangement’” by Dr Maya Dodd (Literary and Cultural Studies) with Paloma Chandrachud (Environmental Studies), FLAME University, India, that highlights the key points presented by the author Amitav Ghosh in the book.
Use the following points raised in the conversation to facilitate classroom discussions for better understanding of the reviewed material
Use this lesson plan to help your students find answers to:
| 1 | Reading; ‘The Climate of History: Four Theses’ | An essay by historian Dipesh Chakrabarty that discusses why the discipline of history does not adequately address the environmental history of
the planet.
This can be accessed here. Note: A separate lesson plan by Dr Maya Dodd, FLAME University, India, that discusses this essay comprehensively can be accessed at: here/ |
| 2 | Video; ‘Al Gore on ‘An Inconvenient Sequel’. Climate change ‘ends with a victory to humanity’’ | A video interview by CBC/Radio-Canada with Al Gore about the documentary ‘An Inconvenient Sequel: Truth to Power’. This documentary is derived from Al Gore’s book by the same name and chronicles the last decade on what has happened around the world as nations decide on whose burden it is to reduce carbon emissions and how these contributions can be apportioned
This can be accessed here. |
| 1 | Reading; ‘Amitav Ghosh: where is the fiction about climate change?’ | An article in The Guardian by author Amitav Ghosh. |
| 2 | Reading; ‘The Great Derangement: Climate Change and the Unthinkable’ | An introduction to his non-fiction book by author Amitav Ghosh. |
| 3 | Video; ‘A Conversation on Amitav Ghosh’s ‘The Great Derangement’’ | Dr Maya Dodd with Paloma Chandrachud, FLAME University, India. Produced for TROP ICSU by Science Media Centre, IISER Pune. |
| 4 | Additional Resources | An essay by historian Dipesh Chakrabarty. Provided by Faculty of Law, University of Victoria, Canada Dr Maya Dodd, FLAME University for TROP ICSU Project. An interview with Al Gore by CBC/Radio-Canada |
| Grade Level | Undergraduate |
| Discipline | Humanities (Cultural Studies; Literature; History) |
| Topic(s) in Discipline | Environmental Geography, Environmental History, General Criticism, Critical Theory, Literary Analysis, Climate Literature, Non-fiction, Fiction- Speculative, Realism, Epic, Documentary, Narrative, Storytelling, Historicization |
| Climate Topic | Climate and the Anthroposphere |
| Location | Global, Asia, India |
| Language(s) | English |
| Access | Online / offline |
| Approximate Time Required | 1-2 sessions of 45 min |
| Share | |
| Download The Resource |
Here is a step-by-step guide to using this lesson plan in the classroom/laboratory. We have suggested these steps as a possible plan of action. You may customize the lesson plan according to your preferences and requirements.
Video (15 mins)
Use the article in The Guardian by author Amitav Ghosh, ‘Amitav Ghosh: where is the fiction about climate change?’ to discuss his views on the evolution of the narrative in novels and why it has been resistant to include the topic of climate change. Use the text to explain how climate fiction (Cli-Fi) differs from science fiction (Sci-Fi) in the treatment of the narrative. Explain how fiction derived from climate change deviates from trends of ‘gradualism’ in contemporary narratives and yet does not belong to ‘surrealism’ and ‘magic realism’ due to its nature of being ‘real’. Thus, use the reading to emphasize the difficulty of writing about the nature of climate change and why it does not yet have a large presence in fictional works of the literary world.
Reading (15 mins)
Use the write-up on author Amitav Ghosh’s website as an introduction to his non-fiction book, ‘The Great Derangement: Climate Change and the Unthinkable’. Begin by discussing the title of the book- what is the ‘great derangement’ and why is climate change ‘unthinkable’ according to Ghosh. Use the brief text to introduce the different sections of this non-fiction book- literature, history and politics.
Finally, ask your students to read the non-fiction book, ‘The Great Derangement: Climate Change and the Unthinkable’ as a home assignment. Note that the book will have to be procured for this assignment. Instruct them to makes notes of the key points and arguments presented whilst reading the book.
Reading (15 mins)
Play the video, “A Conversation on Amitav Ghosh’s ‘The Great Derangement’” by Dr Maya Dodd (Literary and Cultural Studies) with Paloma Chandrachud (Environmental Studies), FLAME University, India, that highlights the key points presented by the author Amitav Ghosh in the book.
Use the following points raised in the conversation to facilitate classroom discussions for better understanding of the reviewed material
Use this lesson plan to help your students find answers to:
| 1 | Videos; ‘The Great Derangement: Fiction, History, and Politics in the Age of Global Warming’ | A set of four lectures delivered by Amitav Ghosh for the Randy L. & Melvin R. Berlin Family Lectures in Fall 2015 at University of Chicago This can be accessed here. |
| 2 | Reading; ‘The Climate of History: Four Theses’ | An essay by historian Dipesh Chakrabarty that discusses why the discipline of history does not adequately address the environmental history of the planet. This can be accessed here. Note: A separate lesson plan by Dr Maya Dodd, FLAME University, India, that discusses this essay comprehensively can be accessed at: https://tropicsu.org/lesson-plan-climate-change-and-the-environmental-humanities/ |
| 3 | Video; ‘Al Gore on ‘An Inconvenient Sequel’. Climate change ‘ends with a victory to humanity’’ | A video interview by CBC/Radio-Canada with Al Gore about the documentary ‘An Inconvenient Sequel: Truth to Power’. This documentary is derived from Al Gore’s book by the same name and chronicles the last decade on what has happened around the world as nations decide on whose burden it is to reduce carbon emissions and how these contributions can be apportioned This can be accessed here. |
| 1 | Reading; ‘Amitav Ghosh: where is the fiction about climate change?’ | An article in The Guardian by author Amitav Ghosh. |
| 2 | Reading; ‘The Great Derangement: Climate Change and the Unthinkable’ | An introduction to his non-fiction book by author Amitav Ghosh. |
| 3 | Video; ‘A Conversation on Amitav Ghosh’s ‘The Great Derangement’’ | Dr Maya Dodd with Paloma Chandrachud, FLAME University, India. Produced for TROP ICSU by Science Media Centre, IISER Pune. |
| 4 | Additional Resources | Lectures by Amitav Ghosh for the Randy L. & Melvin R. Berlin Family Lectures, University of Chicago. An essay by historian Dipesh Chakrabarty. Provided by Faculty of Law, University of Victoria, Canada Dr Maya Dodd, FLAME University for TROP ICSU Project. An interview with Al Gore by CBC/Radio-Canada |
