Faculty Symposium Fall 2008
Creativity in the Face of Climate Change: the Role of the Humanities in Affecting Societal Change
Creativity in the Face of Climate Change: The Role of Humanities in Awakening Societal Change – A Symposia Series
Sponsored by the Berkeley Institute of the Environment
And [other campus units listed here]
Fall Semester Event – An exploration of the literary arts
Maude Fife Room - Wheeler Hall
Thursday, October 30, 2008, 2pm – 5:30pm
Reception to Follow
Spring Semester Event – An exploration of the graphic arts – Human/Nature Exhibition
The Berkeley Art Museum, Bancroft Ave., Berkeley, CA
Tuesday, April 21, 2009 2pm – 5:30pm (proposed)
Reception to Follow
Human society is at a crossroads. The decisions we make today will determine whether or not human culture continues on its path to impose catastrophic effects on the earth’s climate, its oceans, and its ecosystems. While scientists and technologists are exploring the technical approaches to the humanity’s environmental predicament and exerting their influence on governments, the aesthetic fields of inquiry have a critical role to play in helping society face the challenge of climate change. Artists and writers hold a unique place in manifesting society’s values and have extraordinary capacity to challenge us to rethink our collective responsibilities to each other and to the future of the planet. Can the humanities transform society towards one that makes choices that sustain the planet?
Six UC faculty panelists will inform the audience of their unique perspective on the role that the arts and the humanities will play in the face of a changing planet. Led by poet Robert Hass, this discussion will challenge the panelists to explore the ways we can become a part of the global environmental solution, both individually and collectively.
Issues to be addressed in these symposia include:
• How this potentially catastrophic situation has arisen from not only our machines but from our value systems and societal aesthetic.
• How the arts and humanities have guided societies and cultures previously (or perhaps currently) to sustain themselves in conditions of resource scarcity and environmental change.
• How to raise awareness of the value of humanities for understanding climate change and its impact on human societies.