The course aims to provide students with a background in the social sciences and humanities with an overview of the global challenges of the 21st century for a democratic, just, and sustainable transition. From economic, sociological, anthropological, geopolitical, and environmental perspectives, the seminar brings students closer to the global debates around climate change and the need for alternative development paths, both for the Global North and the Global South.
The seminar wants to engage students in a contextualized critical discussion of Latin America's challenges in a post-fossil fuel era, using the case of Venezuela as an example of the challenges faced by an oil extractive economy in addressing a socio-ecological transition in a global market economy context.