For this week’s reading I found it to be quite interesting and thought provoking to be able to have perspectives on environmental humanities. I have often heard this term of environmental humanities but I have not known much of what it is about and throughout the reading I was able to get the general idea of their purpose. They “Show how humanists are improving our understanding of the problems and contributing to their solution … humanists must offer constructive knowledge as well as criticism” (Emmet & Nye page 2). It is more about just giving the public data and numbers to display the negative effects humans have caused to the Earth and about global warming. We all know that the Earth is damaged but they focus more on deepening the public’s understanding of the issue of the negative impacts humans have on the environment. I noticed as well the influence of gender in the reading and the idea that nature, similar to women, have suffered in the hands of men’s desire to control others and everything; “They pointed out that the very idea of humans standing outside of and controlling nature was based on a conception of the natural world that was passive and feminized … Apparently neutral terms such as “man and nature,” though they still appear in policy discussions of climate change, often have masked unequal social relations and exploitation of resources” (Emmet & Nye page 4). Also I noticed that the main theme of the reading and thus connects to the purpose of the class is the idea that man and nature need to live in harmony with one another, cause in the end we are sharing this land with “non-humans” as well, and maybe shifting our ideas and tactics to a more “feminine” and nurturing nature; “Such a new ethic requires a new narrative. This new story, “would not accept the idea of subduing the earth, or even dressing and keeping the garden, since both entail total domestication and control by human beings. Instead, each earthly place would be a home, or community, to be shared with other living and no-living things” (Emmet & Nye page 6).
My question is, how do we incorporate these new ideologies into the school curriculum, and change years of past ideologies from others?
Hi Emmanuel, you came up with an interesting idea on how nature is depicted as feminine. I thought about your question at the end of your post a bit longer and wanted to comment on that. I know that my experiences do not necessarily correlate to what is being taught in the US, but I still thought to maybe give some ideas on how to incorportate those new ideologies.
In Germany I am studying English and Geography to become a high school teacher. Dealing with the topic of Blue or Environmental Humanities is something that can definitely be incorporated into class (and already is started to be). Teaching maritime history, cultural geography or using literature (e.g. Robinson Crusoe), children definitely engage with critical topics of sustainability, climate change etc. After having done an internship in a school, I can tell that especially younger generations focus on solving problems. They no longer want to ignore what has been ignored for too long. I hope that helps!
Such a wonderful and insightful post, which could really serve as the kernel for a longer essay. You nicely explain how narrative matters, how the humanities matter, to understanding the supposedly scientific, fact-based environment. You are right: ” I noticed that the main theme of the reading and thus connects to the purpose of the class”. And, I will be eager to hear from you in class tomorrow!