The Humanities Institute at Stony Brook (HISB) will host 11 environmentally themed events this fall as part of a three-year grant that the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation awarded the Consortium of Humanities Centers and Institutes (CHCI) for “Integrating the Humanities Across National Boundaries,” an initiative designed to foster new forms of collaborative research among the organization’s international membership. HISB, a member organization of CHCI, is one of the participants in this grant, which will help support the HISB’s Humanities for the Environment initiative.
Professor E. Ann Kaplan spearheads the Stony Brook team, made up of faculty across the College of Arts and Sciences. “Our project addresses itself to new and urgent problems clustered around global climate change and globalization,” she said. “As humanists, we need to show what we can contribute to the ongoing scientific research into climate change. The Humanities Institute at Stony Brook is poised to pioneer and to facilitate dialogue between science and humanities environmentalism.”
The CHCI/Mellon project is already linked with institutes in Australia and Europe, and soon will have an Asian cohort as well. At Stony Brook, Kaplan has gathered together a diverse group of faculty from across the College of Arts and Sciences, plus the School of Marine and Atmospheric Sciences, the Sustainability Program, the School of Journalism, and the community outreach project, Port Jefferson Village – Go Green, a joint project between the Village of Port Jefferson and HISB designed to help residents respond to the challenges of global climate change.
Some highlights of the fall program include environmental humanities scholars Ramachandra Guha, Indian environmental scholar and activist, on October 30; Sandra Steingraber, acclaimed ecologist and author, on November 7; and Elizabeth Kolbert, long-time science writer for The New Yorker, on November 21. Susanne Moser, psychologist and marine scientist, will speak on November 14 and Stony Brook’s own Nicholas Fisher will also give a lecture on issues related to radiation and nuclear waste on September 19.
“The receipt of this A. W. Mellon Foundation Grant attests to Stony Brook’s excellence and leadership in interdisciplinary work centered on the humanities and the environment and is a well-deserved recognition of the laudable contributions of E. Ann Kaplan and our Humanities Institute,” said Dennis N. Assanis, Provost and Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs at Stony Brook University.
Upcoming Humanities for the Environment Events
September 9: Joni Adamson, “Hometree: Blockbuster Films, Climate Justice, and the Environmental Humanities,” 4:30 pm, Humanities 1006
September 19: Nicholas Fisher, “Fukushima Radioactivity and Risks to Wildlife and Humans,” 3 pm, Humanities 1008
October 2: David Chameides, “Chasing Sustainability: Visualizing Change,” 4 pm, Humanities 1006
October 7: Michel Gelobter, “Environment, Justice, and Innovation: What Makes a Sustainable Planet?” 4:30 pm, Humanities 1006
October 17: Leerom Medovoi, “Remediation: Pharmikons and the Politics of Environmental Health,” 4:30 pm, Humanities 1008
October 30: Ramachandra Guha, “Gandhi as Environmentalist,” 4 pm, Humanities 1006
November 2: Community Outreach: Port Jefferson Village – Go Green Information Fair, 12 pm to 4 pm, Port Jefferson Village Center
November 7: Sandra Steingraber, “Chemical Exposure and Human Health,” 4:30 pm, Humanities 1006
November 13: Community Outreach: Douglas Tallamy, “Bringing Nature Home,” 7 pm, Port Jefferson Village Center
November 14: Susanne Moser, “Meeting the Challenges of Public Engagement When Climate Change Comes Home,” 4:30 pm, Humanities 1006
November 21: Elizabeth Kolbert, “Welcome to the Anthropocene,” 4:30 pm, Humanities 1006
HISB anticipates hosting many more events over the three-year lifespan of the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation grant. Please visit the HISB website for a complete calendar of events and updates, or call the HISB at (631) 632-9957.
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