tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2839922450198375320.post4297331492722109092..comments2023-03-27T10:17:22.922-05:00Comments on 10 Things Wrong With Environmental Thinking: The Humanities and the Sciences Squabble for Sustainability’s Soul: First ThoughtsDublinSoilhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12746847572672641393noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2839922450198375320.post-72421221123120287272012-08-30T08:48:43.528-05:002012-08-30T08:48:43.528-05:00Hi Liam,
Thanks for the thoughtful response to my...Hi Liam,<br /><br />Thanks for the thoughtful response to my song and dance. As for putting sustainability on trial, I'm with you (in a democratic way, I hope). I am aware of your philosophical investigations, which is partly why I was perplexed by the whole question regarding the humanities at the table of CW. Don't you count? <br /><br />But the issue you are raising about the lack of representation of the humanities is quite pervasive and goes far beyond the world of sustainability. Although it depends on what your looking for, since it's also the case that the humanities and humanists are everywhere. It's an odd paradox that hits the hardest when any humanities graduate goes looking for a job. (Side note: I recently learned that Newt Gingrich has a PhD in modern European history, but that is probably more disturbing than encouraging.)<br /><br />Some exceptions: <br />1) Just north of the border from us the CHE (culture, history, and environment) group at UW Madison: http://envhist.wisc.edu/<br />2) Related, the http://www.climatewisconsin.org website is a good example of the 'digital humanities' at work. Wisconsin has Aldo Leopoldo to thank for many of their humanities-based initiatives.<br />3) I know some folks (especially those in the sciences or who lived through the 'science wars') like to keep their distance from him, but much of Bruno Latour's work has been directed at some of the questions your asking. Maybe his recent mapping controversies project (http://www.demoscience.org/) can serve as an example? <br />4) I'm also a fan of the work being done at the Center for Urban Pedagogy: http://welcometocup.org/. Their work tries to pair the research of policy makers with designers and has created some fantastic work in the process (some of it 'sustainability' related, some of it not directly).<br />5) Along similar lines, there is the Center for Land Use Interpretation (CLUI), which is a think-tank that documents our changing landscape, and, in my opinion, helps put sustainability on trial while keeping it real: http://www.clui.org/<br />6) Neighborland and pretty much anything that Candy Chang touches: http://candychang.com/neighborland/<br />7) PBS specials like this one on the SF Bay: http://www.savingthebay.org/<br />8) The theme of the current Venice Architecture Biennial is "common ground" which may be of interest? http://www.labiennale.org/en/architecture/<br />9) The cultural landscape foundation has been involved in some very important projects: http://tclf.org/<br />10) Ai Weiwei: http://aiweiweineversorry.com/<br /><br />All of this is just a random sampling of what's out there. Still, I'm not convinced any of these are what you are looking for...<br /><br />AndrewAndrewhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05930125540413683697noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2839922450198375320.post-12913023109958513772012-08-29T14:37:23.846-05:002012-08-29T14:37:23.846-05:00Andrew, thanks for biting! You convinced me that ...Andrew, thanks for biting! You convinced me that the CW mission can benefit from input from humanists. Though, in reality, I needed little convincing on the point. I hoped that at the end of the piece I had sketched what the different humanistic disciplines contribute to sustainability writ large (CW being an example here, rather than being single out for a scolding). And, as you know, I have somewhat quixotically am now in the PhD program of DePaul’s Philosophy department. Though this may sound a little like the “some of my best friends are humanists” line of defense, but in reality I am not, it seems to me, putting the humanities on trial here. However, I am, dare I say it, putting sustainability on trial though. <br /><br />The pattern of representation that I refer to, one that I suspect is common in most municipalities, of professional representation on sustainability needs to be accounted for. The academy may be an exception here. It is a conjecture, anecdotal at this point, that the humanities literally do not have a seat at the table. It is not to say they do not exert a needed indirect influence, but philosophers, eco-critics, artists etc. are I suggest rare in decision making roles in sustainability. (But all means show me the evidence that I am wrong). <br /><br />Now it may be that we think sustainability initiative are a spectacular success and therefore we’ll muddle along just fine the way things are. I don’t think that this is, in fact, the case. Therefore we must think about governance and the role of the humanities in governance structure.<br />DublinSoilhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12746847572672641393noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2839922450198375320.post-79199118863136872102012-08-28T14:06:42.558-05:002012-08-28T14:06:42.558-05:00Okay, I'll bite. But I feel like the humanitie...Okay, I'll bite. But I feel like the humanities are on trial here, as if they are guilty of not putting in their proper weight to support sustainability and Chicago Wilderness. I'll keep this short. First, I think its fair to say that there has been a long-standing concern about sustainability in the humanities which dates back to well... as old as the humanities themselves. One could start with the epic of Gilgamesh, I suppose, and argue that this is a lengthy narrative poem of one man's battle to sustain not only his legacy and fame, but the civilized world. Second, it seems odd to take note that there are no humanities scholars that are actively engaged with Chicago Wilderness and to conclude that the humanities are not sitting at the table. Humanists are everywhere, and of the four initiatives you noted, three of them sound like deeply humanistic projects to me: "restore nature to health," "protect green infrastructure," and "leave no child inside." What does it mean to be healthy? Why do we need green infrastructure? And who leaves their child inside? I'm begrudgingly leaving "mitigate climate change" to the sciences, but the humanists have to leave something for the scientists to do, no? That said, I definitely think it would be great if there was more direct engagement with public history but I'm biased. Lastly, just to turn things around a bit, rather than asking what the humanities can do for sustainability, I'd be interested in knowing what you think sustainability can do for the humanities? To be honest, I don't understand why it seems like the humanities are guilty until proven innocent here, whereas it is assumed that the sciences are obviously contributing to the conversation. Any attempt to answer the question--what have the sciences done for sustainability?--will necessarily have to deal with questions of definition, interpretation, narrative, dialogue and so on, if there is any hope of figuring out the right or desired answer to the question. In other words, academics aside, everyone is going to have to go through the humanities whether we fund them or not. Then again, I may be misinterpreting the question your asking in the first place. <br /><br />As always, thanks for the provocation.Andrewhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05930125540413683697noreply@blogger.com