This course gives a first introduction to the Agenda 2030 (https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/?menu=1300) which was launched by the UN in 2015 with the goal to end poverty in all its forms and to achieve global sustainable development that includes all humans “nobody left behind”.

The  core of the agenda are the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) made up of 169 targets that provide a catalogue of highly interconnected development goals or options. While designed to envision a better future for all on our planet, contradictions, spill-over effects and ethical questions have to be addressed and influence decisions towards possible solutions for our global challenges. After an introductory part, we will have a closer look on some of the 17 goals (selected by the students) and reexamine them with a focus on inequality, gender and the possible role of art in achieving the Agenda 2030.

Though the SDGs are a landmark achievement within international policy shaping, we will also deal with critical voices and discuss their arguments. Further we will contextualize the goals in certain frameworks of different scale (personal, national, regional, global) as group work in order to illustrate the different dimensions.

The class will include exhibition visits, discussion partners from different disciplines and is open to suggested inputs from students.  

80% attendance, active participation in discussions, thought paper (1-2 pages) on a selected topic

Students from other faculties or universities will be given a place on the course subject to room capacities.