The Chicago area, despite its urban character, is home to significant biodiversity. Situated at the intersection of the northern boreal forest, prairie, savanna, and dune environments, Chicago is a crossroads for more than just our own species. Here the great eastern tallgrass prairies met oak-hickory woodlands as well as wetlands, savannas, swamps, and other associations, forming a complex mosaic of environments. The long history of human habitation in this region has significantly transformed local environments, but not all pre-contact environments have vanished and local efforts at restoration and conservation have begun to make a significant difference in the extent and health of indigenous plants and animals. Our logo is derived from the Hickory (Carya); local oak-hickory forests are dominated by Shagbark Hickory (C. ovata) and Bitternut Hickory (C. cordiformis).2003-2004 Workshops
| October 7 | Mural Arsel (Environmental Studies Program) "Energy and Environmental Politics in the Middle East: Three Case Studies from Turkey" |
| November 4 | Mike Kraftson-Hogue (Divinity School) "'The Tangled Bank': Biology, Ethics, and Christian Theology" |
| November 11 | Ron Meyers (Harris School of Public Policy Studies and Environmental Studies Program) Leading discussion of "Environmental Attitude and Ecological Behavior" by Florian Kaiser et al. (1999), J. Env. Psych. 9: 1-19 |
| November 20 | Harold L. Platt (History, Loyola University Chicago) "Shock Cities: Comparative Perspectives on the History of the Environment and Technology" |
| December 2 | Jessica Jerome (MacLean Center for Clinical Medical Ethics) Leading discussion of "Genetically Modified Foods: Shared Risk and Global Action" by Francesca Bray [in Harthorn and Oaks, eds. (2003) Risk, Culture, and Health Inequality: Shifting Perceptions of Danger and Blame. Westport, Conn.: Praeger.] |
| January 15 | Aaron McCright (Environmental Studies Program and Dept. of Sociology) Leading discussion of "Economic Growth: For Better or Worse?" by William D. Sunderlin (from Ideology, Social Theory, and the Environment, Lanham and Boulder: Rowman & Littlefield, 2003) The workshop will focus on pp. 146-163 in the reading, as well as these discussion questions. |
| February 26 | Ron Engel (Meadville/Lombard Theological School and Center for Humans and Nature) Leading discussion of "The Earth Charter" and his essay on "The Earth Charter as a New Covenant for Democracy" from Peter Miller and Laura Westra, eds., Just Ecological Integrity: The Ethics of Maintaining Planetary Life (Rowman and Littlefield, 2002). Among the topics to be discussed: Given the world situation today, what role(s) can and should the Earth Charter be playing in local, national, and international civic and institutional religious arenas? |
| March 11 | Sabina Shaikh (Environmental Studies Program) "Land Conversion for Climate Change Mitigation: A Canadian Case Study Using Contingent Valuation" |
| April 7 11:30 a.m. |
Steve Jerbi, Mike Kraftson-Hogue, and Dave Aftandilian (Religion and Environment Initiative) will lead a discussion of three papers on Christianity and the environment:
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| April 22 | Angela Gugliotta (Environmental Studies, the College) "The Smoky City Between the Wars" |
| April 29 | Breena Holland (Political Science) "Capabilities Theory and Environmental Value" (to open this file, e-mail marsel@uchicago.edu for the password) |
| May 5 | William R. Jordan III (New Academy for Nature and Culture) "Ecological Restoration, Agricultural Technology, and Environmental Values" (excerpt from Jordan's book The Sunflower Forest: Ecological Restoration and the New Communion with Nature, University of California Press, 2003) |
| May 13 | Fikret Adaman (Economics, Bogazici University, Istanbul) "Promoting Urban Sustainability at the Local Level: The Case of Yalova, Turkey" |
| May 18 noon |
Jack Lawler will lead a discussion of Stephanie Kaza's paper "To Save All Beings: Buddhist Environmental Activism" (from Christopher S. Queen, ed. 2000. Engaged Buddhism in the West. Boston: Wisdom Publications) |
| May 20 | Jonathan Berliner (English Language and Literature) "Scene of Immersion: Nature and Capital in American Literature, 1891-1918" (draft of his dissertation proposal; comments welcome!) |
| June 3 | Leila M. Harris (Geography, Univ. of Wisconsin, Madison) "Environmental Degradation, Variable Understandings, and Contested 'Sustainabilities'" |
Workshop Archive
New Graduate Teaching Opportunities for 2008-2009
The Program on the Global Environment has a number of opportunities for advanced graduate students specializing in environmental topics, regardless of discipline.
