Everyone, anywhere, is welcome to join the online Field Trip: Changing the Climate event for which students will share work from the multidisciplinary course, Engaging Climate Change: Creativity, Community, Intervention held at the University of Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada this Winter 2020 semester.
ZOOM EVENT: Saturday, April 11, 1:00-3:30 pm MST: http://bit.ly/changingtheclimate
Please join us for a snapshot of their journey through the class, and stay afterwards to talk with the students.
STUDENT PRESENTATIONS
Together, the diverse collection of student voices, ideas, thoughts, actions, creations, and reflections offers a powerful, moving and inspirational engagement for audience participants. The presentations cover a range of climate issues and concerns in various formats, including eco-friendly photography development, a singalong of an original composition, a primary educational school mini-unit, a personal reflection on being a climate activist, reconsideration of an essay from a new perspective, a carbon footprint survey, a motivational speech, considerations of animal and nonhuman welfare, audio art, video, digital photography, sculpture, and actions for change.
WL Altman – Attempting an online singalong of an original composition. Basically the song is an elegy for mass extinction. Being together with different animals in a room, in a house that is burning. Wishing we didn't have to say "Goodbye". I guess it's going to be a sad song...
Kaitlin Kraushaar – To me, we, humans, are the box. As an educator, I believe that learning is essential in altering our way of living, and who better to educate than our future leaders for years to come. I have created a mini-unit (5 lessons) for grade 2-4 science that explores climate change, human impacts, Indigenous perspectives on life and land, and the interconnectedness between all species and Earth.
Ruth Easton – I’ll talk about an essay I wrote on reconciliation* in Canada (which I believe is deeply tied to climate justice), why it was rejected from a collection, and how that connects to the way I communicate in general and about climate change specifically. *Reconciliation is a problematic term which attempts to capture a variety of political and personal actions which might be taken by Canadians in support of reconciling the relationship between Indigenous and non-Indigenous people in Canada; see this article for more information: "Reconciliation isn't dead it never truly existed."
Esperanza Sanchez Espitia – Short video entitled Animal resilience in times of climate change.
Lauren Wilson – Short diary-style video made over the duration of the climate course that explores changes in my actions and attitude regarding climate change.
Amy Snider – A summary of a journey I've undertaken to better understand the personal and artistic implications of being a climate activist.
Chase Wilson – I'll be doing a soundscape/audio piece containing animal/natural sounds from different environments/species that have been displaced, endangered or made extinct, as well as sounds of the practices and/or industries that have caused these things to happen.
Sheldon Brown – I'm going to be speaking about the changes I've made since joining the class, a carbon footprint survey I created, and also the changes I want to make in my photography practice.
Andrea Bargalló Flores – In Mexican culture, there is a very famous day that we celebrate, called the Day of the Dead. In this day, we believe the dead are reunited with the living through altars that embrace the lives of the dead. Inspired by this belief, I will create an altar for the planet where we can embrace what has died, and get consciousness that this death has been created by humans.
Noé Morin – The challenge of the climate problem is something we all need to face, and is something that will either divide or unite us. My motivational speech uses multiple sources from the climate class content I found interesting as well as parts of my own personal journey that I took throughout the class, and that I will continue afterwards.
Mika Abbott – Digital photography reflecting layers and complexities of our relationships to the climate crisis. For me, punching holes in my work is a way for me to acknowledge and deconstruct what we originally thought to be true or the complete truth.
EVENT FORMAT
Each student will present for 5-7 minutes. After all the presentations (about 90 minutes), audience participants can move between breakout rooms to visit the students for more discussion on their topics. Follow the link above to watch the recorded event.
COURSE DESCRIPTION
MAP 300AQ/400AD: Engaging Climate Change: Creativity, Community, Intervention is a multidisciplinary course that explores climate change and environmental concerns, with a focus on resilience, community, Indigenous perspectives, science, artist engagements, local/global projects, and thinking outside the box in the face of change. Assignments are applied and/or artistic explorations of course themes.
This course was developed and taught by Sarah Abbott, Associate Professor in the Department of Film, Faculty of Media, Art, and Performance, University of Regina. It will be offered again in the Fall 2020 semester. For more information: sarah.abbott@uregina.ca
Image credits
Photo layers: 1) Caribou by Esperanza Sanchez Espitia; 2) "Iceberg near Bylot Island" by susanvg, Creative Commons. Image design by Sarah Abbott.