The College of Arts and Sciences has launched a new Environmental Humanities Program, funded by an Arts and Humanities Divisional Grant and Ohio State's Humanities and the Arts Discovery Theme. Developed by Thomas Davis, associate professor, English; Mary Thomas, associate professor, women’s, gender and sexuality studies; and Chris Otter, associate professor, history, the program will forge campus connections between scientists, engineers, humanities scholars and artists.

“Environmental humanities is a relatively recent phenomenon in higher education with most nationally recognized programs exclusively coastal,” said Davis. “The Arts and Sciences program has the capacity to position Ohio State as the leader in environmental humanities programs among Midwestern institutions."

The theme of the first two years of the program will be climate change with guest lectures, exhibitions and film screenings, including film director Steve Bradshaw (Anthropocene: The Movie); geographer Kathryn Yusoff, Queen Mary University of London; and Jennifer Gabrys, sociologist, Goldsmiths, University of London, and principal investigator on Citizen Sense. Course offerings include freshman and graduate seminars. Program organizers will also be working on a new undergraduate minor in environmental humanities.

“The arts and humanities play a crucial role in shaping environmental knowledge and activism,” said Davis. “Some of the most hotly contested issues around the environment are articulated through literature, folklore, art, narrative histories and performance. We have an opportunity to marshal our unique brand of scholarship to widen the conversation around the environment in a way only the humanities and arts can.”

Learn More about Environmental Humanities Program

Join Thomas Davis, Mary Thomas and Chris Otter for a conversation on the new program and learn about collaborative opportunities and upcoming events at the Arts and the Humanities Discovery Theme Mobile Coffee, Wednesday, Sept. 14, 4-5:30 p.m., Research Commons, 3rd floor, 18th Ave. Contact Thomas Davis for more information.