Arizona State's new 'Ocean Futures' course focuses on climate change, 'anti-racist practices'

The College of Global Futures at Arizona State University announced the opening of its fourth school, the School of Ocean Futures. The school will offer its inaugural course, SEA 194: Ocean Futures, in the fall of 2023. 

Besides teaching students about marine biology and oceanography, the course will focus on climate change and “anti-racist practices.”

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Global Futures scientist Amy Maas, an assistant professor at ASU, explained what the course will be covering in a Q&A with ASU News. “Oceans are changing in response to climate change and human activities: They are warming, acidifying and losing oxygen, and experiencing a biodiversity crisis,” she said.

“The objective of the introductory Ocean Futures class is to introduce students to [the] present and futures of the oceans and the services that oceans provide to our planet. We will also examine the risks to these services associated with human activities [and] solutions to these problems, and help students figure out how their personal skills and interests can be channeled to promote a sustainable ocean within the Earth system.”

Besides climate change, the course will have a distinct focus on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI). “A hurdle we want to tackle in this new program is the historic lack of inclusivity in ... who does this science as well as the lack of inclusivity in “typical” oceanographic and marine science culture,” Maas said. 

Maas continued to outline the specifics of what the course will cover. “The new School of Ocean Futures is weaving diversity, inclusivity and cultural competency into its basic training of new scientists,” she said. “Specifically, the course implements anti-racist practices, training in implicit bias and a growth mindset, providing content in formats supportive of neurodiverse students and actively including historically underrepresented perspectives in the course content.”

“Traditional knowledge, place-based solutions thinking and diverse viewpoints are increasingly being recognized as important for creating equitable, just and lasting improvements in human/ecosystem interactions, and students in our courses will get explicit training in these topics,” she added.

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During the spring semester, a professor at nearby University of Arizona incorporated anti-racist initiatives into seemingly unrelated classes.

Campus Reform obtained exclusive slides that revealed a UA prof pushing CRT in her political sciences course. The professor claimed that meaningful minority protection under American law is a myth and that intent does not matter. 

Campus Reform reached out to Amy Maas and Arizona State University. This article will be updated accordingly.

Follow the author on Twitter: @emily_fowler18