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In the Langues, Cultures, et Développement Durable module, students explore the importance of preserving languages and cultures to achieve the sustainability goals. The contribution of indigenous knowledge to climate action, biodiversity, food security, land and water management, and health is recognized worldwide. Yet many of these languages and cultures, if not extinct already, are vulnerable or facing extinction. When a language and culture are gone, so are the knowledge, expertise, and values they embody and can contribute to steering the planet toward greater sustainability. In this end-of-module project, students investigate an indigenous language and its speakers. The following questions guide their inquiry: What is the status of the language? How many speakers does it have, and do they live in or near an area? How does it coexist with other languages? In what ways are indigenous knowledge, expertise, and values contributing to sustainability efforts in their communities?
The big ideas that will provide the practical lenses for students' inquiry are:
Communities
Culture and identity
Civic engagement.
The essential questions that students will explore in this module are:
How are languages and cultures key to working through the crises represented in the SDGs today?
Can we really understand a sustainability issue without understanding the voices and languages of those who are living through it?
In what way does a community’s relationship with its environment form part of its cultural identity?
How can we help in preserving languages and cultures from extinction?
Students should be able to develop the following enduring understandings:
Linguistic choices (register, vocabulary, discourse) reflect and shape the way in which a community perceives and responds to a crisis or an issue.
Individual and community narratives (personal accounts, songs, documentaries) are powerful tools for raising awareness and bringing about social change — often more so than data alone.
Everyone has the ability to make a difference for themselves, their community, and their place.
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