Environmental Humanities: Definition and Scope

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Questions and Answers

What is the name of the oldest environmental humanities graduate program in America?

Center for Culture, History, and Environment

Environmental Humanities Graduate Program at the University of Utah (correct)

Rachel Carson Center for Environment and Society

The Center for Energy and Environmental Research in the Human Sciences

What is the primary goal of the environmental humanities?

To show the superiority of Western ways of relating to the natural world

To create a new branch of natural sciences that focuses on the environment

To develop new scientific methods for environmental research

To address pressing environmental problems by employing humanistic questions about meaning, culture, values, ethics, and responsibilities (correct)

What is the primary focus of the environmental humanities?

Developing new literary genres

Separating nature and culture

Understanding humanity as part of a larger living system (correct)

Studying the impact of environmental laws on human societies

What is a key feature of the environmental humanities in terms of its relationship with 'nature' and 'culture'?

It highlights the artificial divide between 'nature' and 'culture' Signup and view all the answers

Which of the following is NOT a characteristic of the environmental humanities?

A human-centered viewpoint Signup and view all the answers

What is the name of the journal that was founded in 2012, indicating the development of the field of environmental humanities?

Environmental Humanities Signup and view all the answers

What is the term used by a group of Australian researchers in the 1990s to describe their work in the field?

Ecological Humanities Signup and view all the answers

What is the name of the international network of environmental humanities centers?

Humanities for the Environment observatories Signup and view all the answers

What is the focus of the field of 'environmental justice'?

The unequal distribution of environmental benefits and burdens Signup and view all the answers

What is a key characteristic of the environmental humanities in terms of its approach to environmental problems?

It employs humanistic questions about meaning, culture, values, ethics, and responsibilities to address pressing environmental problems Signup and view all the answers

What is the primary role of the environmental humanities in terms of bridging divides?

To bridge the divide between the sciences and the humanities, as well as between Western, Eastern, and Indigenous ways of relating to the natural world Signup and view all the answers

What is the name of the concept that challenges the separation of 'nature' and 'culture'?

Naturecultures Signup and view all the answers

What is the primary contribution of indigenous, postcolonial, and feminist thinkers to the environmental humanities?

The creation of new concepts and fields that bridge the academic and the political Signup and view all the answers

When did the field of environmental humanities consolidate under this name?

Around 2010 Signup and view all the answers

On which continent are courses in environmental humanities NOT taught?

None of the above Signup and view all the answers

What is a key methodological approach of the environmental humanities?

To synthesize methods from different fields to create new ways of thinking through environmental problems Signup and view all the answers

Study Notes

Definition and Scope of Environmental Humanities

Interdisciplinary area of research combining environmental sub-disciplines in humanities
Involves environmental literature, philosophy, history, science and technology studies, anthropology, and communication
Addresses environmental problems through humanistic questions on meaning, culture, values, ethics, and responsibilities

Aim and Objectives

Bridges traditional divides between sciences and humanities, as well as Western, Eastern, and Indigenous ways of relating to nature
Resists the traditional divide between "nature" and "culture"
Synthesizes methods from different fields to create new ways of thinking through environmental problems

Emergence and Development

Concepts and ideas date back centuries, but consolidated under the name "environmental humanities" in the 2000s
Developed from steady developments in humanities and social science fields in the 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s
The term "ecological humanities" was used in the 1990s, with the field consolidating under "environmental humanities" around 2010

Institutional Development

Journal Environmental Humanities founded in 2012, Resilience: A Journal of the Environmental Humanities in 2014
Dozens of environmental humanities centers, programs, and institutions around the world
Universities offer PhDs, Masters, graduate certificates, and Bachelor degrees in environmental humanities

Contributions from Diverse Perspectives

Indigenous, postcolonial, and feminist thinkers have made major contributions
Challenged human-centered viewpoints and introduced new concepts like "environmental justice," "environmental racism," and "the posthuman"

Connectivity Ontology

Characterized by a connectivity ontology and commitment to ecological laws
Sees humanity as part of a larger living system
Views the organic world and its inorganic parts as a single system

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Description

This quiz explores the interdisciplinary area of Environmental Humanities, combining environmental sub-disciplines in humanities to address environmental problems through humanistic questions.