Promoting interdisciplinary conversations and inquiry concerning environmental issues and their social, cultural, historical, political, and economic contexts
The Society, Culture, and Environment series seeks to build intellectual community among those at Mason interested in the human and social causes and impacts of environmental issues. This series offers opportunities for scholars, graduate students, and other interested members of the Mason community to engage with research and scholarship addressing shared concerns through reading groups, lunch time seminars, and panel discussions, with further events to be announced.
The series brings together existing programs and series to these ends, including the #EnviroSocSci Seminar series, the CHR Environmental Justice Reading group, and sponsored events across campus. Most events take place during lunch on Fridays.
Co-sponsors include the Department of Environmental Science and Policy, the Center for Humanities Research, the Institute for a Sustainable Earth, and the Center for Climate Change Communication.
Contact Levi Van Sant or Richard Todd Stafford to be placed on the listserv and receive more information about the Environmental Justice Reading Group. Sign up for the #EnviroSocSci seminar listserv to receive Zoom links and other session information here.
Calendar (more events TBA)
Friday, Feb 17, 12-1pm | #EnviroSocSci Seminar | Eryn Campbell “Translating support into action: How to motivate people to engage in climate advocacy” | Hybrid: In person in Exploratory Hall 3301 or via Zoom. |
Friday, Mar 3, 12-1pm | CHR Environmental Justice Reading Group | Reading TBD | Hybrid: In person in Horizon Hall 6323 or via Zoom. |
Friday, Mar 24, 3:30-4:30pm | #EnviroSocSci Seminar | Jennifer Sklarew “Building Resilient Energy Systems: Lessons from Japan” | Hybrid: In person in Exploratory Hall 3301 or via Zoom. |
Friday, April 7, 12-1pm | CHR Environmental Justice Reading Group | Reading TBD | Hybrid: In person in Horizon Hall 6323 or via Zoom. |
Friday, April 21, 12-1pm | #EnviroSocSci Seminar | Laura A Sauls “Spatial Technologies and Landscape Claims: Imag(in)ing Guatemala’s Maya Biosphere Reserve” | Hybrid: In person in Exploratory Hall 3301 or via Zoom. |
Friday, Sept 2, 12-1pm | CHR Environmental Justice Reading Group | Discussing Micha Rahder (2021) “Chapter 1: The Many Worlds of the Maya Biosphere Reserve” (p13-31), “Chapter 7: A Known Place” (p189-215), “Chapter 9: REDD+ Queen Futures” (p247-264) from An Ecology of Knowledges: Fear, Love, and Technoscience in a Guatemalan Rainforest. | Hybrid: In person in Horizon Hall 6323 or via Zoom. |
Friday, Sept 16, 12-1pm | #EnviroSocSci Seminar | Levi Van Sant “Land Claims: Conservation Easements and the Politics of Property in the Shenandoah Valley” | Hybrid: In person in Horizon Hall 6325 or via Zoom. |
Friday, Oct 7, 12- 1 pm | CHR Environmental Justice Reading Group | Discussing Barbara Allen (2003) “Chapter 2: Telling Stories About the Environment: The Emergence of Dissent in Cancer Alley” (p19-49) and “Chapter 5: Constructing Health in Cancer Alley: The Role of Expert-Activists” (p117-150) from Uneasy Alchemy: Citizens and Experts in Louisiana’s Chemical Corridor Disputes | Hybrid: In person in Horizon Hall 6323 or via Zoom. |
Friday, Oct 21, 12- 1pm | #EnviroSocSci Seminar | Ted Chen “Climate Disasters Mobilize the Rich and Suppress the Poor: Voter Turnout Post-Harvey.”” | Hybrid: In person in Exploratory Hall 3301 or via Zoom. |
Friday, Nov 4, 12- 1pm | CHR Environmental Justice Reading Group | Discussing Giovanna Di Chiro (2004) “Producing ‘Roundup Ready’ Communities: Human Genome Research and Environmental Justice Policy” (p129-160) from New Perspectives on Environmental Justice: Gender, Sexuality, and Activism | Zoom |
Friday, Nov 11, 2-3:30pm | Panel Discussion | Connecting/Not Connecting in Climate | Hybrid: In person in Merten Hall 1204 or via Zoom (registration required for virtual participation) |
Friday, Nov 18, 12-1pm | #EnviroSocSci Seminar | Dale Rothman “Eliciting Mental Models For Understanding the Reasoning for and against Solar Geoengineering Research” | Hybrid: In person in Exploratory Hall 3301 or via Zoom. |
Friday, Jan 20, 12-1pm | #EnviroSocSci Seminar | Richard Groover “Science & Politics” | Hybrid: In person in Exploratory Hall 3301 or via Zoom. |
Friday, Feb 3, 12-1pm | CHR Environmental Justice Reading Group | Reading TBD | Hybrid: In person in Horizon Hall 6323 or via Zoom. |