Our Work Today for a Sustainable Tomorrow
November 20-22, 2024
Emerson’s Teach-In on Sustainability is an annual, college-wide exploration of how we can contribute to a sustainable tomorrow through communication, the arts, and the liberal arts.
Sustainability means meeting our present needs without compromising the needs of future generations. As reflected in the globally-shared Sustainable Development Goals, that means more than just solar panels and wind turbines. Sustainability encompasses all aspects of individual and societal well-being.
Here at Emerson, we’re on it. Across the College and around the world, Emersonians are contributing to a sustainable future in many ways, big and small, because we all have a stake in what’s ahead.
The Teach-In on Sustainability at Emerson College is designed to showcase the work, experiences, and ideas of our faculty, students, and alumni.
All session times listed in Eastern Standard Time:
Wednesday, November 20, 2024
2:00 to 3:30 p.m. | Sustainable Approaches to Public Health: Voices from Colombia, Guatemala, and Kenya
Presenters:
- Robin Danzak, Professor, Health and Social Change
- Tamera Marko, PhD, Executive Director, Elma Lewis Center at Emerson College and Co-founding President of MobilityMovilidad.org, Boston, MA
- José Melvín Ramírez Hernandez, Licensed Nursing Supervisor and Nurse Educator, Intecap Región Central, Guatemala
- Mathew Kinyua Karia, PhD, Lecturer in Speech-Language Pathology. Kenyatta University, Nairobi, Kenya
Join the Sustainable Approaches Panel via Zoom
Description: This panel will address what it means to take a broad and sustainable approach to public health in three different Global South countries. Speakers will first frame their community contexts in terms of the social determinants of health and healthcare systems. They then will discuss their own impacts on these constructs and systems, including engaging communities, increasing health advocacy and equity, and training healthcare professionals. Students should come prepared with questions for the panelists.
Este panel tocará lo que significa tomar una perspectiva amplia y sostenible de la salud pública en tres países del Sur Global. Los panelistas, para comenzar, enmarcarán sus contextos comunitarios en cuanto a los determinantes sociales de la salud y los sistemas de salud en sus respectivos países. Después, presentarán sus propios impactos sobre estos conceptos y sistemas. Estos incluyen la movilización de comunidades, el aumento de apoyo y equidad, y la capacitación de profesionales de salud. Estudiantes, por favor vengan preparados con preguntas para los panelistas.
Sustainable Development Goals:
Thursday, November 21, 2024
10:00 to 11:45 a.m. | Environmental Reporting
Presenters:
- Douglas Struck, Senior Journalist in Residence, Department of Journalism
- Anxhela Mile, Staff Attorney, Conservation Law Foundation
Location: Piano Row 232
Description: The work toward achieving sustainability, and making sure the burden of that does not fall on the least-powerful communities, is done by many groups, including lawyers in groups such as the Conservation Law Foundation. On Thursday, Nov. 21, at 10:15 am, one of those lawyers, Anxhela Mile, will speak by Zoom in Piano Row 232. Visitors welcome.
Anxhela (Angela) Mile is a staff attorney in the Clean Energy and Climate Change and Environmental Justice Programs. She focuses on reducing carbon emissions in a just manner and ensuring Massachusetts reaches its climate targets by working alongside community groups. Prior to joining CLF, Anxhela also served as a New York lawyer and an assistant editor and co-author on a publication on the Sustainable Development Goals and Indigenous Peoples’ rights.
Sustainable Development Goals:
Goal 16: Peaceful, just and inclusive societies and institutions
12:00 to 1:45 p.m. | Ecofeminism in the Twenty-First Century: A Conversation
Presenter:
- Jennifer McWeeny, Professor of Philosophy, Marlboro Institute for Liberal Arts & Interdisciplinary Studies
- Tove Pettersen, Professor, Centre for Gender Research, University of Oslo
Location: SPC Blackbox, Little Building, Lower Level (LL)
Description: Join Professors Pettersen and McWeeny in a conversation about the importance of ecofeminism to contemporary environmentalism and social justice movements. We will discuss key features of ecofeminist perspectives with reference to the work of Val Plumwood, A. Breeze Harper, Carol J. Adams, Chaone Mallory, and others. Topics of conversation include care ethics, historical parallels between women and nature, violence and exploitation, sustainability practices in diverse communities, and the intersections of racism, colonialism, sexism, abelism, and speciesism. Bring your questions and ideas about ecofeminism and join the conversation!
Sustainable Development Goals:
12:00 to 1:45 p.m. | Mapping Your Sustainability Knowledge
Presenters:
- Mary Mangual, Affiliated Faculty, Writing, Literature & Publishing
Location: Ansin 205
Description: As a complex problem, sustainable development requires creative communication strategies, cross-disciplinary collaboration, and highly skilled leaders. One way institutions of higher learning are preparing students across a wide range of majors—from engineering and environmental science to English and Theatre—is by mapping connections between the skills and knowledge students gain in their coursework and the 169 targets that make up the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals. In this interactive presentation, participants will explore the findings of SDG mapping efforts at Emerson and identify their own sustainability strengths.
Sustainable Development Goals:
12:00 to 1:45 p.m. | Introduction to Sustainable Development
Presenter:
- Alireza Raisi, Affiliated Faculty, Marlboro Institute for Liberal Arts & Interdisciplinary Studies
Location: Walker 403
Description: This course (PL 250) is designed to provide students with an introduction to the interdisciplinary field of sustainable development and the intricate interaction between politics, economics, global institutions, and the pursuit of sustainable development goals. It describes the challenges of the world economy and the Earth's physical environment to address issues of environmentally sustainable and socially inclusive development.
Sustainable Development Goals:
4:30 to 5:30 p.m. | Keynote: Why Communication and the Arts are Crucial to Sustainability
3:45 to 4:30 p.m. - Refreshments and hors d'oeuvres
Presenters:
- Boaz Paldi, Chief Creative Officer, UN Development Programme
Location: Bright Family Screening Room, Paramount Center
Description: Boaz Paldi is a campaigns, partnership , advocacy and communications expert, experienced in leading major international organizations in all outreach campaigns and public relations needs. As the Chief Creative Officer at UNDP, he recently launched both the #DontChooseExtinction and the #WeatherKids campaigns.
In this session, Boaz will discuss the work he does at UNDP—one of the main UN bodies to oversee the SDGs—the importance of communication to the global sustainability effort, and why Emerson is a perfect spot for a major in Sustainability Communication. He will tell us why everything we teach and do here—film making, marketing, journalism, performing arts, everything—is crucial to the global sustainability effort. In Boaz’s words, communication is the missing link in moving us toward a just transition. Emerson can make that happen.
Sustainable Development Goals
5:30 to 8:00 p.m. | Ecocinema Screening and Discussion: Deep Rising
5:30 to 6:00 p.m. - Refreshments and hors d'oeuvres
6:00 to 8:00 p.m. - Screening and Discussion
Presenters:
- Hunter Vaughan, Visual and Media Arts
Location: Bright Family Screening Room, Paramount Center
Description: Join the MFA students of the Environmental Media Studies graduate seminar for a screening and discussion of the Deep Rising (2023), a documentary feature about the race to mine the deep sea floor for the rare metals necessary to many 21st-century technologies, including renewable energy storage. Capturing the conflict between oceanic ecosystem stability and green energy futures, the film (narrated by Jason Mamoa) offers visual representation to the complex splendor of a rarely seen biome, casts light on the struggles between corporate power and the UN's International Seabed Authority, and illuminates crucial contradictions in current climate crisis solutions.
Sustainable Development Goals:
Friday, November 22, 2024
10:30 to 11:30 a.m. | Sustainable SLPs: Strategies for long term success!
Panelists:
- Maggie Critchlow, SLPD, CCC-SLP, Assistant Director, Program & Student Support
- Alina Carter, MS CCC-SLP
- Dr. Angela Mandell, ClinScD, CCC-SLP
- Chandrani B. Ray, MA CCC-SLP
- Joy Kinney MSR CCC-SLP
Join the Sustainable SLPs Panel via Zoom
Description: Speech Language Pathologists (SLPs) are in demand professionals, but how do we create sustainable practices for the long haul? Our panel of expert SLPs have experience, knowledge and strategies which will support developing and established clinicians alike to create a successful, sustainable practice and avoid the ever increasing burn-out we face as practitioners. Topics of discussion may include: sustainability when supporting diverse populations, the realities of working in fast paced settings, and tips and tricks for maintaining a work/life balance to support mental health.
Sustainable Development Goals:
12:00 to 2:00 p.m. | Compost Concert
Performers:
- Various artists (Names to come)
Location: The Loft, Enter through the Lion’s Den/ 120 Boylston Street
Description: Join Emerson Green Collective and the sustainability team for our annual Compost Concert. The event will feature musicians, dancers, and a puppet show. Student organizations will also be present to share information about how their work intersections with sustainability. Lunch provided.
Sustainable Development Goals:
1:00 to 2:00 p.m. | Workshop: Sustain Your Brain! Care for Your Creativity
Presenter:
- Brenna McCormick, Senior Executive-in-Residence and Director, Business of Creative Enterprises
Location: Little Building 241
Description: The challenges of today’s global and climate challenges call for profoundly different ways of thinking, living and working. At the heart of the UN's Sustainable Development Goals is the need for creative thinking; allowing for us to reflect, adapt, address and develop new solutions, as well as be creative in how we communicate, reflect, and tell our stories in ways that inspire others towards sustained positive change. Creativity is core to our shared future. It also requires personal care so that it too can be a sustained resource for us to tap into rather than become burned out or blocked.
In this hands-on workshop, participants will explore ways to refill, refuel, and boost their thinking through creative practices and time-tested tools, allowing them to remain inspired, discover opportunities, and foster adaptive and flexible thinking.
Sustainable Development Goals:
2:00 to 3:00 p.m. | Environment & Sustainability Writer's Panel: Create/Communicate/Convince
Presenters:
- Christine Casson, Assistant Professor, Writing, Literature & Publishing
- Sarah Cole, Assistant Professor, Writing, Literature & Publishing
- Jennah Figueroa, MFA Candidate, Creative Writing
- Steven Himmer, Senior Lecturer II, Writing, Literature & Publishing
- Hannah Nuce, MFA Candidate, Creative Writing
- Holly Walker, MFA Candidate, Creative Writing
- Vivian Walman-Randall, MFA Candidate, Creative Writing
Location: Little Building 241
Description: Writers address the importance and the challenges of writing fiction, non-fiction, poetry, etc. that take as their subject climate, environmental, and other sustainable issues.
Sustainable Development Goals:
3:00 to 4:00 p.m. | Hardcore Marketing Workshop: A short course in marketing for the non-marketer
Presenter:
- Michael Tucker, Senior Executive-in-Residence and Associate Chair, Marketing Communication
Location: Little Building 241
Description: Hardcore Marketing is marketing for the non-marketer: An alternative approach to traditional marketing process that yields pro-level strategic insights and creative direction in a highly compressed timeframe. In this session we'll learn some basic Hardcore Marketing principles and how to employ them.
Sustainable Development Goals:
7:00 to 8:30 p.m. | 24-Hour Plays
Presenters:
- Executive Producer: Hannah McEachern, Community Coordinator for the Business of Creative Enterprises Program; Founding Artistic Director of QTCboston
- Stage Manager: Susan Weinhardt ’25, BFA Stage & Production Management
- Assistant Stage Manager: Joanna Su ’27, BFA Stage & Production Management
- Performers/Writers/Directors: TBD
Location: Black Box Theater, Little Building Basement
Description: The 24-Hour Play Festival offers writers, directors, and actors an opportunity to explore the 17 Sustainable Development Goals through the lens of theatre. They will write, direct, and produce a short play (5–10 min.) that forms a unique narrative around one of the goals within 24 hours.
While the pieces will explore sustainability through the SDGs, the production team of the festival will also explore ways in which a 24-Hour Play Festival process can be sustainable, i.e. encouraging sustainable writing and production habits throughout the process.
Produced by QTC Boston's Artistic Director Hannah McEachern, audiences can expect fast-paced, thought-provoking pieces about sustainability in all its forms.