Beyond the Human View: Experience the World Like Other Species With Annie Novak
This course has already started! However, you can still join if you’d like to (and we hope you will!). Students enrolling after the course start date and time will have access to a recording of the first session (which will be emailed to participants within 72 hours) as well as the option to attend remaining sessions live. Please select the “Join Late” ticket type to enroll after the course has begun.
In this 3-part lecture series, learn to experience the planet as other species do—discovering how to cohabitate better with the non-human along the way.
Course Description
The lived perspective of human beings shapes our planet, from our landscapes to our soundscapes to the night sky—with major consequences for the rest of life on Earth. We rarely consider what might happen if we stepped outside of the human-specific way of engaging with the world. What would happen if all eight billion of us stopped to smell the roses like an aphid, or took an actual bird's-eye view (spoiler: it's nothing like a satellite image)?
In this series with Annie Novak, we'll explore what it might be like to experience the world through the eyes, ears, photoreceptors, and other sense systems of non-human species. We'll look at the overt and unintentional ways our sensory perspective informs the way we live as humans and look closely at how non-human species have adapted—or failed to adapt—to humans' growing influence on the planet. And through exercises and practical applications, both philosophical and hands-on, we'll come to a better shared understanding of how to live alongside the non-human.
Syllabus At A Glance
This course includes four total sessions, each lasting 1.5 hours on three consecutive Wednesdays beginning November 29.
Session 1 (Wednesday, 11/29, 6:30–8 PM EST)| Our Sensory World
How the human experience and perspective shapes our interactions with the rest of the world
Session 2 (Wednesday, 12/6, 6:30–8 PM EST)| How to Leave Yourself Behind
Developing perspectives and practices to create experiences through the non-human worldview
Session 3 (Wednesday, 12/13, 6:30–8 PM EST)| Empathetic Stewardship
Using your new perspective(s) to be a better conservationist and ally to the non-human
Pricing Options
This course is available at three ticket prices. This tiered pricing model is designed to increase access for a wider range of students as well as to support our instructors. In addition to tiered tickets, we offer a limited number of no-pay spots for students who would not otherwise be able to take this course. No-pay spots are selected via a randomized drawing two weeks before each section begins. For more information and to apply for a no-pay spot, please click here. To learn more about our pricing model and randomized selection process for no-pay spots, please visit our FAQ page.
Community Guidelines for Students
Please take a moment to review our community guidelines for students, which aim to share our classroom ethos and help set the stage for the best possible learning experience.
Atlas Obscura Online Courses
Atlas Obscura Courses offer opportunities for participants to emerge with new skills, knowledge, connections, and perspectives through multi-session classes designed and taught by expert instructors. To learn more about our current course offerings, please visit www.atlasobscura.com/online-courses. For answers to commonly asked questions, check out our FAQ page here.
Founded in 2009, Atlas Obscura created the definitive community-driven guide to incredible places across the planet and is now an award-winning company that shares the world’s hidden wonders in person and online.
Once registered, you’ll receive a confirmation email from Eventbrite that will provide access to each class meeting. Please save the confirmation email as you’ll use it to access all sessions of your course via Zoom.
Annie Novak is the founder and director of Growing Chefs, field-to-fork food education program; the Manager of the Edible Academy at the New York Botanical Garden, and co-founder and farmer of Eagle Street Rooftop Farm in Greenpoint, Brooklyn in partnership with Goode Green and Broadway Stages. She is the author of The Rooftop Growing Guide: How to Transform Your Roof into a Garden or Farm, published by Ten Speed Press.
A passionate educator, Annie teaches locally & nationally, and has spoken at conferences around the country on the connections between people, food and ecology, and the benefits of urban agriculture.
Photo credit: Naima Green
This lecture series is designed so students can participate live or watch a recording of each session, after it airs, at a time that is convenient for them. Sessions will take place live over Zoom, with dedicated Q&A segments for students to ask questions via video or chat. Within 72 hours after each session meets, students will receive access to a recording of the live session, which they can watch for up to two weeks after the course concludes.
Instructors may use Google Classroom to communicate with students outside of class. While students aren’t required to use Google Classroom, instructors may use this platform to post resources, discussion questions, or assignments. This platform also offers a space for students to connect with one another about course material between sessions.
We provide closed captioning for all of our courses and can share transcripts upon request. Please reach out to us at experiences@atlasobscura.com if you have any questions, requests, or accessibility needs.
