Question the natural order and human-animal relations, discussing our role and place within the animal kingdom. Questioning the usual attitude that people are not animals.
Lesson plan
Man and the animal world
| Author / creator | Curator | Date |
|---|---|---|
| Zoran Kojčić | Zoran Kojčić | 03/2019 |
Downloads
Aims and objectives
Content
Show the short clip Food Chain, from comedian Louis CK (which is now questionable since the clip contains strong language, so it's not for every audience, plus Louis CK has recently been accused for sexual harrasment, so every facilitator should decide to go with this or not), where the premise is that life would be much harder if people would be a part of food chain. Since we are outside of the food chain, our lives are significantly better. After participants see the clip, discussion goes in direction of questioning our position in animal kingdom.
After that, we discuss the endangered speaces of animals and how did they become endangered, emphasizing awareness on such issues in bioethics.
We make distinction between domestic and wild animals, and question human diet, veganism and the relationship toward the planet and how animal farming affects Earth.
To conclude, we touch on the question of evolution, and how our relationship toward animals could change if another animal enters food chain which would feed on us, or become more inteligent than us, to gain different perspective.
Learning activities
Video analysis, discussion, questioning
Materials and resources
Since this workshop is based on video clip and a discussion, no additional materials are needed
Location
This workshop was done as part of Ethics curriculum in high schools in Croatia. The workshop was done in high schools in Vukovar and Dalj with students age 14 - 18.
Time
This workshop can be done in a 45 minutes long class, as they are in Croatia. However, depending on teacher as facilitator, it could be prolonged to 90 minutes, given that many new materials or questions could be presented. The time will always depend on the facilitator and their own judgement which parts of the workshop are most important and the dinamic of the group.
Teacher role
To ask questions and provide space for participants' answers and discussion
Grouping / classroom
Large/small groups, general setting, usually individual work