Agency in the Anthropocene

In this piece, the author explores the tension between modern educational demands and the actual capacity for student agency within the framework of the Anthropocene and climate activism.

The text critiques prevailing educational models associated with these movements, drawing on environmental humanities research to highlight the inherent contradictions and complexities of human agency in a changing climate. As an alternative, the author proposes a "pedagogy of flourishing."

This approach seeks a productive balance between acknowledging the constraints on a student’s individual agency and leveraging the transformative power of arts-based, capability-focused learning.

This reimagined framework for learner agency is reinforced by practical evidence gathered from an English-language literacy program for tertiary students at a German teacher-training university.

Bartosch , R. (2025). Agency in the Anthropocene . Nordic Journal of English Studies, 24(2), 22–43. https://doi.org/10.35360/njes.v24i2.62119. Published 2025-11-24.