Are Humans Separate from Earth or Are We Part of it?
Videos
Grades9, 10, 11, 12, APHistory, Geography
This resource has been reviewed by SubjectToClimate's climate scientists and verified for scientific accuracy and up-to-date information. Learn about our review process →
Provided by The Kid Should See This
What it is
- This 5-minute animated video and accompanying article explores modern humanity’s relationship with the planet, asking whether it is time to reassess how people see themselves in relation to nature.
- It contrasts animistic Indigenous worldviews with western philosophical history, noting how colonization advanced views that positioned humans as masters of the natural world rather than members of it.
Teaching tips
Classroom Implementation:
- Use this video to open a Socratic seminar or structured discussion on worldviews and the environment, inviting students to articulate and defend their own answer to the title’s question.
- Have students compare the Indigenous and western philosophical perspectives presented, analyzing how each frames the human-nature relationship and how those framings might shape responses to climate change.
- Dive deeper into the erasure of Indigenous beliefs via colonization and the spread of western thought.
Related Resources:
- Use this video to illustrate how traditional ecological knowledge informs Indigenous' peoples understanding of nature and how western science is finally recognizing this valuable wisdom.
- Use this lesson to explore the environmental justice implications of the United States' westward expansion in the 1800s.
From the scientist review
This video explores how different societies, groups, and peoples relate to the Earth and nature around them. Focus is given to the history of the mindset that humans can conquer the Earth, how that has led us into the Anthropocene era, the problems this mindset causes, and how shifting it to one focused on working with the Earth can be beneficial. The Anthropocene is an unofficial geological period referring to the time after the Industrial Revolution, when humans had a significant and dominant impact on Earth's climate and environment. The information presented is accurate, and this resource is recommended for teaching.
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