Environmental Studies

Overburden is the story of a fiery, pro-coal right-winger and a tenacious, environmentalist grandmother as they take on the most dangerous coal company in America. These two lives intertwine as Betty and Lorelei unite to launch the first wind farm in coal country and to rebuild their fractured community.

Professor Kathy Morse (History) and Postdoc Alicia Peaker (DLA) will discuss the goals, process, successes and stumbles in having students build a series of collaborative, digital exhibits to mark 50 years of environmental studies at Middlebury. Fifty Years of Green, built using Omeka & Neatline, showcases the work of students in a Spring 2015 Environmental History course (HIST 222). During their talk, Kathy and Alicia will reflect on collaborative digital work; modifying an existing course with an experimental project; and student reactions to learning new software and skills.

Maree ReMalia and her Pittsburgh-based collaborators present Landing/Shifting: Drop In, a series of interactive and participatory installations and performances that invite all members of the community to “drop in.” These events use dance, visual art, sound, and video to explore the ways creative experiences foster resiliency, connectivity, and sustainable well-being. This first event will play with movement scores and installation concepts in conjunction with Katie Martin’s Dance Improvisation class. Sponsored by The Andrew W.

Please join us for two senior thesis presentations in Environmental Studies!

4:00 p.m. Thomas Epstein, Environmental Studies major, Environmental Policy focus: “The Structural Determinants of Undocumented Farmworker Health: Understanding the Impacts of U.S. Immigration Policy Since NAFTA.”

4:30 p.m. Heather Tourgee, Environmental Studies major, Environmental Non-Fiction focus: “When the Flood Comes: On rising seas, grief, and coming to terms with a new planet.”

World Café: Our Environment, Our Future An Inclusive Group Dialogue for Students, Staff, Faculty and Guests In a café setting, we will build upon the ideas expressed in the keynote address and panel to explore questions that matter to our community, our nation and our globe. Our goal is to connect diverse perspectives, share collective discoveries, and stimulate deep thinking about our collective and personal “environmental” futures. All are invited to attend. For more information & a complete schedule of 50th celebration events: go.middlebury.edu/enviro50

Environmental Studies at 50: What’s Next? This Keynote Conversation will be moderated by Bill McKibben, Schumann Distinguished Scholar, with special guests William Cronon (Frederick Jackson Turner and Vilas Research Professor of History, Geography, and Env Studies, University of Wisconsin - Madison), Rachel Morello-Frosch (Professor of Environmental Health Science, University of California – Berkeley), and Gernot Wagner (Lead Senior Economist, Environmental Defense Fund, Adjunct Associate Professor of International and Public Affairs, Columbia University,Research Associate, Harvard Ken

Green Jobs Not Jails: Criminal Justice Ecology Don’t miss this Keynote Address by dynamic speaker Van Jones, President & Founder of Dream Corps and CNN Political Correspondent, as he explains how to shrink the prison system and grow the green economy. Welcoming remarks by President Laurie Patton. For more information & a complete schedule of 50th celebration events: go.middlebury.edu/enviro50 Sponsored by Program in Environmental Studies, Franklin Environmental Center at Hillcrest, Department of Political Science, Department of Sociology/Anthropology.

Prof. Traci Brynne Voyles, Loyola Marymount University This talk explores the environmental and cultural history of southern California’s Salton Sea, beginning from the assertion, central to environmental history, ecofeminism, and political ecology, that the “environment” has never been a pure, hermetically sealed category separate from human life — it has, quite to the contrary, always been integrated into and agentic in our lives.

Please join the Environmental Studies program for local cider and donuts! Meet the environmental studies faculty and students, and enjoy tasting the delicious Fall themed treats provided.