A case study commissioned by the HEA Subject Centre for Art Design and Media.
A scan of scientific literature reveals clearly that spiralling population and consumption is undermining the ability of the Earth to support human life. A scan of political discourse suggests that despite the rhetoric of sustainable development there is very little will to drastically reduce production and consumption quite the opposite in fact. The unstoppable force of economic expansion looks set to meet the immovable object of environmental limits and something has to give. This article explores the educational implications of collapse and argues for the importance of equipping students with the ability to break conventions exercise creativity and invent new stories to base life on in the very different conditions of the world to come.
