PROPOSAL FOR FULL-DAY WORKSHOP

AESS CONFERENCE, 2017

Teaching for Turbulence—Contemplative Practice Under The Eye of the Doomsday Clock

Theme & Justification:  Less than three weeks after President Trump’s inauguration, the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists in the U.K. marked the 70th anniversary of their Doomsday Clock by moving it 30 seconds closer to midnight. This is the first time the clock has been adjusted because of a single person’s statements, but Trump’s positions on climate change and nuclear weapons were considered sufficiently alarming to merit the move.  Against this backdrop of heightened tension, we revisit Michael Maniates’ call in 2013 for Environmental Studies & Science (ESS) instructors to do a better job of preparing students for the social and ecological turmoil rapidly manifesting both nationally and globally—hence the term, “teach for turbulence” (1). He sees this gap as having stemmed from the fact that ESS is strongly influenced by the view pervasive in the natural sciences that social change occurs in a rational manner in response to new scientific information. Social change involves uncovering facts and electing policymakers who will act on the data. His model suggests that the pathway to change involves  scientists learning more effective ways to communicate their findings to policymakers.

The science-media-policy interface in the U.S. has grown increasingly hostile since the 2016 presidential campaign. The distinction between verifiable truths and fiction has been blurred by the term “alternative facts” (2) and a wide variety of media outlets have been accused of reporting “fake news” (3). Many specific actions have raised concern about the future of the environment including the appointments of former ExxonMobil CEO, Rex Tillerson, to Secretary of State, and prominent climate skeptic Scott to head the Environmental Protection Agency; as well as Executive Orders to revive the Keystone XL and Dakota Access Pipelines).  Perhaps even more concerning is an unwillingness on the part of the Republican Party in general to engage with the scientific evidence regarding anthropogenic climate change (4).  In the face of such challenges, scientists are overcoming their general reluctance to wade into politically-charged territory, as evidenced by the “March for Science” scheduled for April 22^nd 2017 (5). Now, more than ever, scholars of ESS need to understand not only the science, but also the science-media-policy interface, how and why it has become so contested, and how we can effectively and productively address that contestation in the classroom.

Through this workshop we seek to bring together the work of Maniates with that of Berila (6) , who has focused on bringing contemplative practice into the classroom  to offer hands on insights for educators to help students, and the larger society, navigate away from midnight on the Doomsday Clock.  Participants in the workshop will be expected to read Maniates and Berila’s work in preparation.

Activities & Timing

*Notes will be taken for each activity and shared via email with workshop participants

Goals, Outcomes & Communication of Results:The larger goal of this workshop is to create a community of practicioners/educators who are interested in further developing their pedagogy to better serve the needs of their ESS/social science students by integrating the collectively devised techniques, ideas and practices presented.  Additionally, from this shared experience it is anticipated that some attendees will be interested in further working with each other and the workshop leaders to collectively pursue journal articles and possibly book chapters for an edited volume on the workshop’s themes. 

Workshop Leaders

Carol Atkinson-Palombo is a Geographer broadly trained in Human-Environment interactions. She specializes in evaluating public policies intended to promote Sustainable Cities and has published on a wide range of topics including sustainable transportation, renewable energy, and air pollution. She teaches interdisciplinary courses to students in Environmental Studies and Science, Urban Studies, and Civil & Environmental Engineering, as well as Geography.

Phoebe Godfrey is a Sociologist who developed and teaches such classes as Society and Climate Change, Sustainable Societies and Sociology of Food. In addition, she has written a number of articles and book chapters on her pedagogy and has two edited volumes—one looking at Climate Change and Intersectionality and the other Sustainability and Intersectionality.  

Works Cited

1. Worldwatch Institute, The. Teaching for Turbulence. [book auth.] Michael Maniates. Is Sustainability Still Possible. Washington DC : Island Press, 2013.
2. Conway, Kellyanne. Meet the Press. s.l. : NBC, January 22, 2017.
3. Mahewshwari, Sapna. 10 Times Trump Spread Fake News. [Online] New York Times, January 18, 2017. https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2017/business/media/trump-fake-news.html?_r=0.
4. Funk, Cary and Kennedy, Brian. The Politics of Climate. Washington D.C. : Pew Research Center, 2016.
5. March for Science. [Online] 2017. www.marchforscience.com.
6. Berila, Beth. Integrating Mindfulness into Anti-Oppression Pedagogy: Social Justice in Higher Education. New York : Routledge, 2016.