Jody Cohen (BMC - Education) and Anne Dalke (BMC – English)
Muddy-ing the Waters:
Doing Justice to Race, Class, Gender and Environment
http://www.otheragents.net/descendingstairs/DescendingStairs.html?theKeyword=Ha
rriet%20Tubman&Flights=6&Stairs=12&xInc=50&yInc=40&name=
Anne and Jody learned of Harriet Tubman’s environmentalism when Dr. Dorceta Taylor
from the University of Michigan visited Bryn Mawr this past February. Dr. Taylor
identified Tubman as an environmentalist for the importance of her being able to
“read” nature in her work as an abolitionist. Weather, bird calls, river currents, moss
on trees, medicinal use of plants, time of night, star navigation – were critical tools for
her work. She could read the world and use the readings to find justice for people
enslaved. In this Emily Balch seminar course there will be a mixing of identity politics
and environmental concerns – race, class, gender and environment – for freshman.
They hope to help them expand their reading of the world and use of words to do
that. Muddying the waters – what they don't know and what we don't know we don't
know. Big questions of time and place will be addressed.
Questions they raised included:
• How can we re-read Harriet Tubman as an environmentalist? How can we help
students understand what constitutes an environmental issue?
• How can social scientists figure out how to enter the environmental field?
• How are we taking Eco-literacy forward – right now – we can’t keep it to ourselves.
Benjamin Le (HC - Psychology)
The Psychology of Conservation: Theory and Research in Environmentalism
• Professor Le’s interest is in the relationship commitment.
He sees this model as a useful way to look at our
commitment to the environment. Some of the questions
that he and his students will be looking at include:
• How is environmentalism connected to cognition and
perception (natural beauty, appreciation of nature)
• How do we change attitudes (disconnect, social influence)?
• How do we get people to do things they don’t want to do?
• How do we build self-concept as an environmentalist
(motivation)
• How do we prompt these behaviors?
Judith Owen (HC – Biology)
Biology, Health and the Environment
Biology, Health and the Environment
Judy Owen, Haverford (jowen@haverford.edu)
• Formal training in Biochemistry and Immunology – how
the organism perceives threats in its environment
•
Course at CDC on the teaching of “Environmental
Health”
•
100-200 level course is named to discriminate it from
BMC Environmental Health offering – course will also
qualify for credit towards the Health Studies Minor
http://www.cdc.gov/news/2007/06/images/bldg19_300p
x.jpg
• Basic lectures/flipped classroom will describe concept of
environmental health, toxicology, health threats in air,
water, ground, buildings and food sources, including the
occurrence of food deserts
• Case studies/project work in last three weeks of class
followed by student presentations.
https://i1.ytimg.com/vi/SgI_bRMAnFo/hqdefault.jpg
Jennifer Peck (SC - Economics
Environmental Policy and Economics
Robert Weinberg (SC- History)
Environmental Policies of Soviet Era Russia
Aral Sea
• Dr. Weinberg realized that this was the last year that ES would give out the
new course development grants and wanted to teach a class in ES –
Ecology in the Soviet Union was his inspiration. He teaches deals with
some of this in his regular classes but wanted to do one focused.
• The Aral Sea became the focus because of what has been happening to it
ecologically. The Aral Sea was the 4th largest lake in the Soviet Union and
is now 10% of what it was. It has become a dried out lake, ships are
drydocked – all because of economic development in Soviet Union.
• Soviets drained water from two channels to Aral Sea – As water dried up
in rivers, it also dried up in the Aral Sea Land became exposed and created
dust storms. Materials leached back into soil (herbicides, pesticides) –
impacted health (breast milk, high mortality for children, respiratory
issues).
• They needed development but didn’t think about consequences. They are
trying to undo it but it will be a hard battle.
Rachel Hoang (HC – Biology)
Introduction to Genetics and the Environment
Introduction to Genetics and the Environment
(Rachel Hoang – Haverford Biology)
Why?
- Framework for
understanding env issues
- Connections between
genetics, evolution & env
- Communication with
scientists
Who?
Non-science majors
Category A - core
MODERN
GENOMICS
Strengthen links to Env
Studies (Jon only regular
contributor)
When?
2015-16
(elements earlier in Superlab)
What?
- Principles & approaches
of modern genetics
- Biodiversity
- Genetic engineering
- Genetics & env in health
and disease
Where?
Haverford
Jason Schmink (BMC – Chemistry)
Principles and Practices of Green Chemistry
K. David Harrison (SC – Linguistics)
Linguistic Anthropology: The Language—Environment Interface
• Dr. Harrison never thought about himself as an environmental
studies person. But as soon as you begin to look at language and
culture you begin to get in touch with environmental aspects.
• Dr. Harrison’s course was inspired by folks in communities in the
Andies in Bolivia - #1 topic for nomadic, farming societies is
environmentalism. It informs their whole world.
• For Kaliawaya speakers, their language is under threat, language
base about environmentalism under threat.
• “Each language has unique conceptual systems and taxonomies for
classifying and managing the natural world. The course will explore
whether these biological eco-systems can be adequately
understood at all in isolation from the languages and cutures that
have co-evolved with them.”
Farid Azfar (SC – History)
Histories of Water
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•
•
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Dr. Azfar came to Histories of Water through interest in rivers. He wasn’t thinking
about environmental change.
He thought about how societies change through history pertaining to water –
Historiography of water. He eventually changed to crisis as a frame for the history
of water – but then went out to CA and his thoughts there changed from crisis
because there is a way that rhetoric of crisis brings a managerial quality to the
issue. Made it seem very myopic.
He also began thinking about the form of history that is about reclamation. He
became interested in CA – cross temporal region – all kinds of water issues and
had conversations with people who recommended books, reports from World
Bank – had long history of water, etc. He began to see the history of water
through a variety of lenses.
In the last year or so, there has been a lot of talk about the temporality of water
histories as told in media….revolutionary sound to the way water is described.
Students coming in have been shaped by these narratives….they need an act of
reimagination – use water to reimagine the frames of many of the fields that touch
it.