Published 2026-04-24
Keywords
- compassionate distance,
- dialogic education,
- hope,
- positionality,
- storytelling
How to Cite
Copyright (c) 2026 Tommy Wils, Veronique Schutjens
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Accepted 2026-04-18
Published 2026-04-24
Abstract
In the Anthropocene we are inescapably embedded in the planetary, such that we cannot experience the scales of our impact nor keep analytical or critical distance to it. This new position requires a new pedagogy for geography education in the Anthropocene, able to relate to the fragmentary experiences on a wounded planet. In this short communication we argue for developing a compassionate distance through ecological dialogue with the non-human. We explore four story-based examples that dialogically cross the boundaries between us and this other world, and present concrete hands-on activities that may support teachers to explore relation, positionality and meaning with students in the Anthropocene classroom.
Highlights:
- Geography education in the Anthropocene requires thinking about changing human positionality before action-oriented deliberation.
- Storytelling is a way to transcend dualistic representations, allowing more openness to the wounded planet we are embedded in.
Contribution to the Special Issue Topics:
This paper contributes to the understanding and development of new pedagogies for complexity. It explores the role of dialogue, narrative, inquiry and imagination to navigate epistemic complexity and uncertainty. In doing so, it broadens the scope in teaching controversial and polarising issues and helps decolonise geography education by interrogating the dominant dualistic man-nature narrative. The paper offers new perspectives on teacher agency in times of uncertainty.
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