This week, our discussion of the big and scary word “The Anthropocene” is nested within a larger theoretical/philosophical question about “what is reality?” In delving through many different readings which argued for a variety of interpretations of the human effect on the planet, we attempted to understand the breadth of categories under which writers and […]
Come On, Eileen! & Other (Over)reactions to Environmental Academics
Anyone who has ever tried to hang out with me while I do my environmental studies reading knows that I am very vocal when I have a reaction to said reading. Oftentimes, this reaction is a happy reaction, such as when a new connection is formed between William Cronon and John Rember in Hal Rothman’s […]
The Nature of Language: What Do We Mean When We Say?
One of the most important lessons I have learned as an English major is that language is, at its most basic, a system of symbols. Thus, everything created in language (such as theory!) is a representation. Although this idea of language as an illusion can be hard to wrap one’s mind around (Lizzie Bennet from […]
Touristic Experiences of Wilderness in the American West: An Annotated Bibliography
Baker, Alan R.H. Geography and History: Bridging the Divide. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2003. This book provides a fusion of the disciplines of history and geography and discusses where and how time and space overlap. This provides a theoretical insight into how to understand, analyze, and explore places (situated contexts) from both of these lenses […]
Finding the “Why?” : Environmental (In)Justice as an Important Frame
For me, issues of environmental (in)justice are at the very core of why studying Environmental Studies is important, relevant, and urgent. Although justice is perhaps just another “big word” that has huge implications yet is difficult to pin down a definition, injustices can be very tangible. They can be measured in parts per million in […]