Honors College focuses on climate change
The University of Central Arkansas Norbert O. Schedler Honors College will host Challenge Week from Sept. 27 to Oct. 4. The theme is “Climate Change: Resiliency and Hope.”
Challenge Week is an annual event hosted by UCA’s Honors College that brings a wide range of regional, national and international thinkers to campus to discuss a specific issue or problem that impacts society. Speakers present information and arguments that challenge audiences to see an issue or problem from a new perspective and take action to move toward thoughtful change.
“Our goal for Challenge Week 2019 is to help people approach climate change not as a vague and amorphous threat, but as the basis of our shared, everyday lives that we can actively shape with hope for a resilient and sustainable future, said Ellen Hostetter, associate professor, Honors College. “The individuals we’ve invited to be part of Challenge Week will offer new ways of thinking about the reality of climate change and will offer our UCA community ideas and tools for moving forward.”
The keynote speaker is Joshua Farley, ecological economist and associate professor in Community Development & Applied Economics and Public Administration at the University of Vermont. His address is Wednesday, Oct. 2 from 7-8:30 p.m. in Ida Waldran Auditorium.
A renowned pioneer in Ecological Economics and a fellow in the Gund Institute for Ecological Economics, Farley’s research thinks through how local and national economies can be both ecologically possible and “socially, psychologically, and ethically desirable.” He will present a science-backed story of resilience and hope based on the work he’s done throughout his career, as well as news from his current projects, which includes participation in a Societal Transformation Lab focused on a Green New Deal for Vermont.
Farley co-authored “Ecological Economics: Principles and Applications” in 2003 with Herman Daly, and he is working on a co-edited book, “A Research Action Agenda for Ecological Economics” for release this fall.
Other activities during Challenge Week include the following:
The Science and Art of Climate Change
Friday, Sept. 27, 3-4:30 p.m., Baum Gallery Lecture Hall and Exhibit Hall
What do we mean when we say climate change? What are the current data telling us about earth’s warming? Why does this matter? What is the scientific consensus regarding the role human activity has played in driving climate change? Jessica Scott, member of the anthropology department at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock and facilitator for the Climate Reality Project; Laurie Warren, lecturer II in biology at UCA; and K.C. Larson, associate professor in biology at UCA, will address these questions.
After the lecture, from 4-4:30 p.m. in the Baum Gallery Exhibit Hall, attendees can view “The Art: an unveiling of The Tempestry Project,” organized by Donna Bowman, UCA Honors College, and Leah Horton, UCA biology and Honors College. The Tempestry Project visually and tangibly represents temperature data for a given place through knitted tapestries. Attendees will be able to see and touch Conway’s average daily high temperature in six different years, each significant in the history of UCA.
The Human Face of Climate Change
Monday, Sept. 30, 4-5:30 p.m., College of Business Auditorium
From 4-4:30 p.m., attendees can enjoy light refreshments and a poster display from UCA Honors scholars that explores the intersection between global climate change and ethical citizenship.
Kevin Bales, professor of Contemporary Slavery at the University of Nottingham, will speak from 4:30-5:30 p.m, about the connections between the human and environmental damage done by global supply chains that rely on slave labor.
Bales, who also spoke during Challenge Week last year, has presented his research to the United Nations and to government officials in the United States, Britain, Ireland, Norway and Nepal. His publications include “Blood and Earth: Modern Slavery, Ecocide and the Secret to Saving the World” and “Disposable People: New Slavery in the Global Economy.” Sharon Mason, assistant professor in UCA’s Department of Philosophy and Religion, will then help put the connections Bales discusses into a framework of hope.
Regional Action
Tuesday, Oct. 1, 6:30-8 p.m., College of Business Auditorium
Building a sustainable and resilient future in the face of climate change requires action; this panel showcases the work being done in Arkansas and across the Deep South. Attendees will hear from Alsie Parks, regional director for the Southeastern African American Farmers’ Organic Network (SAAFON). SAAFON helps black farmers and black communities engage “culturally relevant, ancestrally guided, and ecologically sustainable agricultural-based living.” Chloe Costello Hiley and Kenneth Chad Hiley, both graduates of the Fay Jones School of Architecture + Design, will join Parks to lead a discussion on implementing sustainable methodologies as designers in Arkansas.
New Stories, New Identities
Thursday, Oct. 3, 6-7:30 p.m., College of Business Auditorium
Ellen McMahon, professor of art at the University of Arizona; Jennie Case, assistant professor of creative writing, UCA; and Story Matkin-Rawn, associate professor of history, UCA will lead this panel discussion around rethinking our expectations for “living a good life” and reassessing how we have interacted with each other and the environment, in the past and today.
Panelists will explore how three different disciplines — creative writing, visual arts and history — can help us imagine new ways of being, new identities and new relationships in our climate-changed world.
Making a Change Workshops
Friday, Oct. 4, 3-4:30 p.m., Student Center
How does the production and processing of food, in Arkansas and abroad, impact human lives and the physical environment? How are conditions here and abroad similar and/or different? These questions and others will be explored during interactive workshops.
Diana Lopez, director of the Southwest Workers Union, will provide opening remarks from 3-3:25 p.m. about the work she has done to make sustainable and socially just change in her community, with workers in San Antonio and on the international stage. Her talk will inspire the workshops to follow, allowing audience members to engage in one-on-one conversations with local activists and researchers.
The following workshops will take place from 3:30-4:15 p.m.:
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“Yes, You Can Make Democracy Work . . . Even in Partisan Times”: Jean Larson from the Citizens Climate Lobby will lead this interactive workshop, during which participants will build and apply the powers that create effective climate conversations and lobby meetings. The workshop will start with the power of the personal story, progress to the power of appreciation and dive into the ultimate power that produces useful conversations.
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“Examine Your Stuff: The Difference that Knowing Makes”: Eric Bowne, assistant professor of Anthropology at UCA, will help participants understand the impact their consumption habits have on the environment. Bowne will also help navigate global supply chain research strategies, provide a list of resources and suggest a number of simple, easy ways to reduce overall daily consumption.
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“Getting in on the Ground Floor”: Jessica Frazier-Emerson, Hendrix College senior, and Eva Englert-Jessen, program coordinator for the Center for Calling and Christian Leadership at Hendrix, will host a discussion for those interested in starting a youth movement on campus or in doing environmental policy and advocacy as an internship and beyond. Frazier-Emerson will share her experience this past summer in Washington D.C., doing faith-based environmental and justice advocacy.
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“Getting Organized”: In this session, participants can continue the conversation with guest speaker Diana Lopez.
The Honors College has worked with the Departments of Biology, Environmental Science, Philosophy and Religion, History, Creative Writing, English, Sociology, Criminal Justice, and Anthropology, Art, and Geography to plan Challenge Week.
To see the complete schedule of events, visit https://uca.edu/honors/cw/.
