2018 Conference

Discussion Symposium

In this discussion symposium, participants will be invited to consider and discuss the various ways that digital technology has impacted the fields of environmental studies and sciences (ESS). It is my intention to provoke participants to think about digital technology in ESS as a double-edged sword, as both positively and negatively influencing these fields. I will provide an introduction to these perspectives in the introductory remarks, by giving examples of instances in which digital technology has benefitted ESS, such as increasing environmental scientists’ ability to communicate and share data, as well as examples of ways that digital technology is debilitating to ESS, such as reinforcing a culture based on materialist, capitalist norms, which runs in opposition to the attitudes and values many scholars in the field of environmental studies espouse.

The impact of digital technology on ESS relates to the conference theme, Inclusion and Legitimacy, as the primacy of digital technology affects what is considered legitimate knowledge and data, and who is included in being able to generate and access this information. Further, as digital technology becomes the basis for how and even where information is held, cultures which continue to use older, traditional ways of interacting with their environments and of storing knowledge and wisdom are no longer included in this information storehouse.

This discussion symposium session will begin with participants introducing themselves, followed by my introductory remarks. The majority of the session will be devoted to discussion, in small groups and within the larger participant group. The session will finish with a few minutes for participants to reflect on what they have learned, questions they still have, and how they might carry these ideas forward in their ESS practice.

Discussant: Elizabeth Beattie, University of British Columbia, lizbeattie22@gmail.com