Category: 03. February 25

While it is important to recognize to recognize the impact that humanity has on the environment and the natural world, it is an entirely different level of commitment to draw those realizations to ones own discipline (regardless of how simple or complex doing so may be). I found it interesting how a professor focused in literature and specifically the English department was able to address some of these issues of climate change and the current detriment that humanity is having on the natural world. Striking moreover, was Dr. Helnsley’s use of such an iconic text when considering the state of our planet. Leaving the talk, I found myself considering the power of this in the relation to our topic: the presence of the past. 

While Helnsley spoke about the ever changing nature of our planet, he seemed to dwell on the issue that we lack the language to explain exactly what state of nature we are in right now. This is an interesting paradigm, and I see ways in which he is spot on and arguably slightly off course in his discourse. While he uses Alice in Wonderland to contextualize another place where lack of proper language existed, I do believe this example also struggles because of the fictional narrative it brings forth. While there is of course a need to analyze and respect fictional works in the lineage of contemporary English literature, placing them into the context of such a real issue like climate change brings upon slight issue in my mind. 

I felt as if the legitimacy of our climate problems and the way we talk about them was potentially not as strong as it could have been given the textual reference. I would imagine my point could be easily countered, and one could argue that then we should also discount the work of George Orwell in his book, 1984. However, I found it notable that this left me feeling slightly off put. 

Thinking about climate change more broadly, I think it is great and important to see multiple disciplines tackling the issue. While an English department may not commonly confront works on climate change, that is not to say they should not. I think to my own major, of Art History, and consider the ways in which we should be better about breaching the topic within our discourse on the history of art. While some artists bring upon the issue in very apparent and well respected manners, as a historical discipline we struggle to use these works for further analysis because their meaning is often quite straightforward and requires a minimal amount of unpacking. Artists such as Maya Lin create works (one of which is in the Colby College Museum of Art titles, Pin River) that represent the deterioration of our natural world, yet historians fail to put these issues into context of what has come before us in terms of other periods of hardship and struggle.  

While this lecture was not immortal at fulfilling and I found myself leaving with a bit of uncertainty surrounding the strength of Dr. Helnsley’s arguments, after a bit of reflection I think he is headed in a direction that is not only positive for departments of English, but academia as a whole. 

Professor Nathan Hensley from Georgetown introduced his thoughts on the climate crisis and how we can learn from literature to help combat it. He began his talk with a personal history of his home town in Fresno, California, a major agricultural hub. Initially, I couldn’t understand how this was relevant to his new book and research as he spoke about the farm that his family owned and remembering what it was like to grow up in that environment. He went on to discuss his memories of the farm and how they were idealized to conform to conventional ideas about what a farm is and means. This was evident when he showed the photographs of Fresno today and discussed the environmental changes that have occurred since he left his hometown. While Fresno remains an agricultural hub, the technologies and industries have developed, and it has become a center for industrial agriculture. The word agriculture to me suggests organic farm where you can enjoy all of your fresh vegetables and fruits and pasture raised chickens and cows, but this is not the case. The industrial agriculture business in Fresno has created such pollution and sickness that it is no longer close to what Hensley remembers from his childhood. The pollution in the air has caused some of the highest rates of asthma in the country and its in not solely impacting the humans that live in the area; 95% of the monarch butterflies that used to populate the area have died as well.

This problem is not only isolated to California and Hensley’s personal experience; it is a global issue. Hensley suggests an entire overhaul of the ways in which we think and the systems in place that guide our actions. A concrete example of this are the devastating hurricanes that have plagued the United States in recent years and the probabilities that we assign to them. By the probability that is currently in place, Houston, Texas has experienced 3500 years of storms in the past ten years alone, and who knows what will happen if this continues on the same trajectory.

The one literary example that was well developed throughout his argument was the story of Alice in Wonderland and the transitions that she endures within the story. Alice runs into problems in this novel environment because she attempts to bring principles from her normal world into Wonderland. This causes a mismatch between two frames of reference and distinguishes the two different realities. I understood this to be a metaphor for how we think about our world as it develops. Clearly there is something that must be changed in order for survival on this planet. The current way in which we treat the environment with reaction as opposed to action will not continue to work as is illustrated by Alice in Wonderland. Similar to Alice, adapting to a new mindset is the sole way to living in a new reality.

Hensley ended his discussion with a few suggestions for how to make this shift happen. He suggested a collaborative approach as opposed to the individualistic one that we often take, including the past and thinking about how this relates to past historical events, opening our minds to multiple approaches versus one specific plan. Upon reflection I have a better understanding of his argument, however, someone asked how this translates into action, and I think this concept may need more development before we are able to accept the idea.

This lecture was very interesting to listen to for me personally because it involves subjects that I am passionate about. By incorporating literature and using famous novels as reference to discuss the dangers of climate change in our contemporary age, Dr. Hensley was able to captivate me in this lecture and make me even more conscious of my carbon footprint. I have always cared about the environment and one of my first jobs was working as a courtesy boat inspector in Belgrade, Maine. I used to make sure invasive species of plants such as milfoil were not on any of the boats entering the lake or leaving the lake and I was to remove and bag all of these invasive plant species. As this indicates I am passionate about taking care of our planet and so many of the statistics that were presented in this lecture were extremely alarming. Everyone has heard all of the terrible things about climate change before, but to hear things like over 50% of the species of animals on this planet might be extinct within our lifetime it is terrifying.

I think by combining this was classical and historic literature and comparing the views culturally 200 years ago to the views people hold now, it was really powerful to think about both how far we have come since then and how little we really have changed. On one hand, we have all of this crazy technology and the super computers of even a few decades ago can now fit into all of our pockets. On the other hand we are still experiencing the same issues as someone like Alice, and must still manage and battle the idea that we may never be able to return to the world we know and love.

I thought the most interesting part of this lecture was the discussion between Dr. Hensley and a student about the power of literature in combating issues like this. Although I personally may not argue that Alice was making a substantial argument about climate change in the world, I think that literature is definitely one of the most powerful tools we have in our modern age. As more and more people buy into the idea of fake news, less people believe major news outlets and more people will go back to believing written word and hard facts. It if difficult for most people to argue with strong statistics and evidence (although some still manage to do so) because they are so often backed up with scientific evidence. When this is written down and communicated effectively to the youth of this country and the world in primary schools, we will be properly preparing the future generations of this world to take care of it. I thought also mentioning the ways books create discussion, collaboration and just facilitate further brainstorming on how to combat this huge issue was really insightful. Overall I thought this presentation was another great addition to this lecture series and kept me entertained and learning throughout.

Dr. Nathan Hensley’s lecture was titled, Action After Nature: Climate Crisis & The Force of Literature. The lecture focuses on the ecologically collapsing world and the power of literature in regards to addressing it. At the beginning, Dr. Hensley outlined his talk by entertaining us with statistics and brief stories in relation to environmental losses of specific species, unbelievable natural disasters, and changes in weather patterns. He then went on to tell us how there are often much deeper meanings behind what seems like shallow writing. Continue reading “Will Literature Help Us Enter a New World?”

Dr. Nathan Hensley’s lecture focused on the power of literature in addressing the climate crisis. Early on, Dr. Hensley laid the foundation for his talk by discussing the profound environmental losses of species, habitat, and changes in weather patterns/disasters in modern history (~70 years). He then suggested that authors, long before the environmental movement we have today, devised language that helps us communicate these realities. He specifically used Lewis Carroll’s Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland to illustrate this point. Dr. Hensley claimed that as Alice traveled through the two worlds she tried to enforce conventions of her own world onto the characters in the underground one. He suggested that as we verge between two geologic epochs we, much like Alice, are teetering between two worlds and need the language to communicate that.

I left Dr. Hensley’s lecture unconvinced that literature is the answer to the climate crisis. From an academic standpoint, I understand the thinking behind literature as a tool to convey and connect people to climate change. It’s snappy and accessible. Watercolor paintings are beautiful and resonant. Books like Alice’s Adventures into Wonderland seem accessible and easy to connect with. But, I don’t believe that these sources are the antidote to the climate crisis. The environmental crisis spans industries, countries, and is a part of virtually every component of our day to day life. Even after Dr. Hensley’s lecture and applied case study I struggle to see the connection between old literature and the environmental crisis today. It seemed like a bit of projection/stretch to contend that by reading old books we can shift the entire world’s (or enough) of the world’s mindset to stop climate change- especially at the rate that climate change is progressing vs. the rate changing the world’s mindset with take.

When Eana and I asked questions about the implementation of literature as a  decisive response to the climate crisis Dr. Hensley responded by suggesting a need for collectivism and collaborative thinking. While collectives and co-ops certainly hold their place I don’t see that as the solution to the climate crisis. To me, a collective approach is idealistic. It feels like something that academics thought up in isolation without truly and deeply considering how a solution like that would play out in reality. While I absolutely agree that collective action- especially on an international scale- is integral, I think we need additional, more concrete options. In a world where economic growth and development are priorities to virtually every nation on Earth, we need to facilitate industry changes (much larger than a co-op or writing collective). Restrictions to mass production of food and consumer goods seem like a better, faster approach to the same problem.

The presence of the past shows in every CO2. Industrialization and development are omnipresent features of the past. Injecting and projecting old literature to fit the environmental movement today seems far from the answer to the climate crisis. Perhaps, we need all the solutions- the action based ones like climate regulations and the more thought based ones to eventually create a paradigm shift. Dr. Hensley’s solution appeals to a certain group of people and if people buy into it as an entry point to fighting the climate crisis that’s important too.

Nathan K. Hensley’s lecture on Action After Nature: Climate Crisis and the Force of Literature was very eye-opening for me. He touched on the topic of Climate Change with a perspective I have never heard before. During the presentation, he brought up the idea of environmental racism which I will focus my reflection on.

Environmental injustices are more likely to occur in rural and low-income neighborhoods where citizens are not only not provided with the equality infrastructure to help protect against environmental inequality but are often also limited to their access to health care which exacerbates the side effects of the injustice.

In the lecture, Hensley uses the example of Fresno, California. This area consistently ranks among the most polluted for two types of air pollutants- ozone in the summer and particulates in the fall and winter. The air can be a swirl of soot from residential wood burning, smoke from wildfires, diesel exhaust from trucks and aerosol particles from dairies. Because of this air pollution, about 200,000 adults have been diagnosed with asthma and about 75,000 children have asthma. When looking at the statistics, a higher proportion of kids from an African American background have been diagnosed with asthma. The disproportionate rates of frequent asthma symptoms among Black children indicate major health disparities that require a response by local communities.

Environmental pollution and climate change are disproportionality damaging the health of Black and low-income communities. Bringing this back to the lecture, Dr. Hensley’s main point was about the power of literature and how they are very relevant to Climate Collapse. Books like In the Wake: On Blackness and Being which allows us to make trans temporal connections to history and modern society. Books like this help create a framework for environmental change and movements. Literature fosters mutual, collaborative thinking that ultimately builds collectives of people passionate about making the world a better place.

He also focused heavily on the story of Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland. The story is a tale of two mutually exclusive orders of representation. One a releases world of Alice above world life. Another filled with unusually animated queer scenes that are ruled by violence. Hensley also notes how in the book there is a movement between two order of expectations and that manifests itself with nonverbal graphic marks because it cannot be captured grammatically. Hensley point in referencing this book is that since the piece was written during a transition from a rural and agricultural world to one focused on industrialization, we can mirror Alice’s dichotomy with that of real life.

During the question and answer part of the discussion, a student asked how this awareness literature creates manifests itself as tangible action. I as well had this question because it is very easy to make general and big assumptions with solutions that will work in a perfect utopian society. He answered the question by explaining how we should rewire our brains from an individual to more collective thinking. At first, this explanation didn’t make sense to me but as he elaborated, I resonated more with this idea. Often when talking about climate change, I’ve heard many people shame others for not being vegan or for using straws and equating their individual choices to the cause of global warming. But if we adopted this collective thought mindset, we would realize that the forces causing climate change are much bigger than the individual and requires all of us to work together to create real change.

Being in such a pivotal stage in the world where our decisions now will directly affect the future state of the world, Dr. Hensley’s lecture did a great job connecting the power literature has to represent the current state of the world while also pushing us towards a solution of reversing the damage our past has caused.

Nathan Hensley reminded us that literature serves a larger purpose than entertainment. It is a revolutionary tool. Publications have the power to expose and propel a movement into action and empower the public to take action against the status quo. Hensley reminded us of the deeper meanings behind seemingly shallow literature. He brought up the messages that are interwoven Lewis Carroll’s Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland.  These ideas of two contradictory universes that are unable to coexist relates to the idea of a point of no return in climate change – where the damage we cause to the Earth becomes irreversible. In particular, Hensley talks about how Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland communicate the notion of never returning to the way things were and mentions a quote from Donna Harraway – “What comes after will not be like what came before.” Dr. Hensley provided statistics about how we would lose 52% of the world’s species and how hundreds of millions of people would die due to a 2 degree Celsius increase in the global temperature. This really resonated with me, it drilled in the idea of a new geologic era called the Anthropocene. An era marked by the destruction of nature causing mass extinction, or as Hensley put it an “environmental Holocaust.

The key point to Dr. Hensley’s presentation was about the power of literature, a point that was disputed among some students. I recall a student questioned how we turn statistics and words to action and change. In my opinion, change does not come without hard facts to back up a cause. These books are the foundation for the modern day environmental movement, this data is what will help the cause move forward. For example, in 1962 Rachel Carson published her groundbreaking book Silent Spring about the dangers of synthetic pesticides, especially DDT. Her book rocked the boat and was very influential in the environmental movement at the time. The book caused Congress to enforce laws and acts that set up regulations for insecticides and pesticides. Silent Spring is a prime example of how literature turns into action and eventually progress.

It is books like these which will propel us into an era of change. As Dr. Hensley said, literature is an influential tool that is effective in communicating data, expanding empathy to nonhuman organisms, and fostering speculation about other possible fates. From small book clubs that talk once a week, to large movements started by a persuasive text, literature creates a collective. This is why literature is so powerful, and this is why it has been used time and time again as a call to action. In my opinion, I don’t think that spreading awareness is the biggest issue surrounding climate change at this moment, I think that finding innovative solutions that replace the harmful operations we practice today with cleaner alternatives. Finding technology that doesn’t set us back, but moves forward without the burden of pollution.