November 1, 2019
Contemporary environmental challenges ranging from climate change and biodiversity loss to social justice issues have accelerated the interdisciplinary turn in German studies toward the environmental humanities. This interest has catalyzed the work of scholars in many domains and motivated the development of innovative creative approaches to curriculum design. It has also raised awareness of the need for collaborative efforts and community connections. This symposium will explore the intersection of German studies with environmental humanities in terms of scholarship, curriculum, and community, with the intent of broadening the impact of projects and expanding the wider scholarly network that is now developing. The event is hosted by the Center for German and European Studies and Environmental Humanities Initiative (University of Minnesota-Twin Cities) and funded by DAAD. It will include presentations of current scholarly projects, opportunities for networking, and a panel focusing on content, methods, and resources for our courses and community partnerships. Invited speakers from the Twin Cities area will describe concrete examples of initiatives that have successfully brought together German Studies, environmental humanities, and local sustainability efforts.
Schedule
9:30-11am: Workshop with Joela Jacobs. “Publishing and the Engaged Scholar”
How can early career scholars develop their formal presentations into finished publications? How can they combine interests in social engagement and activism with professional activities as an academic? Joela Jacobs will share her perspective as Assistant Professor in a thriving and engaged German program at the University of Arizona. Her diverse publication projects have included special journal issues on plant studies and animal narratology, conference proceedings, and an open-access volume on micro-matter (such as pollen, lichen, microbes).
11-12:30: Lunch on your own
12:30-2:00pm: Keynote Address by Joela Jacobs
“Sustainable Communities for Social Justice: Critical Engagement with Cultural Environmentalism through Education”
How do we engage our communities in both sustainable and equitable ways when it comes to environmental questions? Part one of this talk will analyze recent environmental education initiatives for refugees in Germany in order to show how cultural notions shape environmentalism (and vice versa), with a particular view toward effects on social justice. While environmentalism is an urgent necessity, the case study demonstrates that it is not a neutral practice, and it challenges us to examine our own cultures of sustainability. The implication of environmentalism in our harmful histories and racialized realities requires research, teaching, and activism that resists the reification of ethnonationalist and colonialist models of sustainability. Such practices benefit from a professional network of shared resources and knowledges that is attuned to theory and practice in ways that create opportunities for continued learning and constructive criticism in a collegial and (nearly) carbon-neutral manner.
Part two of the talk will therefore point to some successful interdisciplinary and international network initiatives for decolonization and the environmental humanities in order to discuss what is involved in sustaining such structures and how they can inspire and support collaborations on campus and beyond.
2:15-3:30pm: Panel. Ecocriticism and Active Learning: Pillars and Perspectives
Beth Kautz (UMN-Twin Cities), Kiley Kost, Rebecca Jordan (Washington University), Vanessa Hester (University of Washington). (Moderated by Charlotte Melin)
4:00-5:00pm: Panel. Community Engagement: Projects, Partnerships, Strategies
Seth Peabody, Dan Nolan, Stefan Soldovieri (University of Toronto), Susanne Wagner (University of St. Thomas). (Moderated by Dan Philippon, UMN-Twin Cities)
5:00-7:00pm: Reception and closing remarks
Co-organizers: Charlotte Melin (University of Minnesota-Twin Cities), Seth Peabody (St. Olaf College), Dan Nolan (University of Minnesota-Duluth), Kiley Kost (Carleton College)
Sponsors: Center for German and European Studies and the DAAD/German Academic Exchange; Environmental Humanities Initiative; Department of German, Nordic, Slavic and Dutch