THE SOLARPUNK MANIFESTO
​& RADICAL HOPE

This course will examine the tenets of the solarpunk manifesto, how the solarpunk aesthetic is expressed in visual arts and literature, and how we can make these ideas our own. For years, popular culture has portrayed our collective future as versions of the apocalypse, the climate crisis inevitably leading to end-of-the-world outcomes. Solarpunk, a scifi subgenre and relatively recent social movement, offers a radical alternative to this doom-and-gloom vision by urging us to work together and embrace hope. Through reading, writing, and discussion, students will familiarize themselves with the movement’s most important principles and generate creative responses. We’ll focus on creative thinking, realistic optimism, regenerative futures, and climate justice. Using reflexive practice, we’ll also work backwards from a solarpunk future to identify how we can contribute to the realization of this aspirational vision.
Mondays, 7-9 PM EST (4-6PM PST)
​Online on Zoom
120 minute sessions, 4 weeks
February 3rd - 24th
$125 - $375 Tuition
Select scholarships and solidarity rate discounts available upon request.

INSTRUCTORS

Chantal Bilodeau
Chantal Bilodeau is a playwright whose work focuses on the intersection of storytelling and the climate crisis. In her capacity as artistic director of the Arts & Climate Initiative, she has spearheaded initiatives for nearly two decades, engaging theatre and educational communities, as well as audiences in the U.S. and abroad, in climate action through programming that includes live events, talks, publications, workshops, artist convenings, and a worldwide distributed theatre festival. She is currently working on a series of eight plays that look at the social and environmental changes taking place in the eight Arctic states.
Image credit: Adobe Stock