Re-storying the landscape: The humanities and higher education for sustainable development

Abstract

In this paper, the environmental humanities provide a lens into sustainability principles and practices within the setting of higher education. In the midst of the planetary crisis represented by the Anthropocene – the geological epoch in which human activity has become the dominant influence on the environment – the humanities can advance the sustainability movement by emphasizing the study of human experience. As we face sustainability challenges such as climate change and biodiversity loss, we encounter questions such as: what kind of education is of most value and how do we engage the environmental humanities as a mode of inquiry to better understand the crucial relationships between humans, place, and sustainability? Addressing these questions requires non-conventional modes of inquiry. Studying the stories of the landscapes that we inhabit is a non-conventional mode of inquiry that nurtures a sense of place. These stories include how the land was shaped by both natural and human forces. Stories of place and the history of how humans have altered it provide crucial insight into the human-Earth relationship. The study of place cultivates interest in infusing lived and felt human experience into the curriculum and pedagogy. Infusing human experience into higher education pedagogy encourages the linking of the sciences with the humanities. These ideas were implemented in a case study in which a swamp located in northwestern Ohio was used to contextualize sustainability education at Bowling Green State University. Such an education-oriented response to the sustainability crisis allows us to formulate new modes of inquiry, to better collaborate across disciplines, and to embrace uncertainty.

Education for sustainable development in higher education institutions: an approach for effective interdisciplinarity

“…While the content of these disciplines may seem unrelated to current questions of sustainability, their approaches can be invaluable to interdisciplinarity in ESD. The humanities and social sciences are positioned to provide paradigms and perspectives often overlooked in the sciences, (Hensley, 2020; Palsson et al , 2013). Such sectors and their practices promise alternative ways of analyzing and thinking about sustainable development, thereby enriching the content of ESD and providing students with deeper knowledge and understanding (Egan et al , 2004; Hensley, 2020).…”

“…The humanities and social sciences are positioned to provide paradigms and perspectives often overlooked in the sciences, (Hensley, 2020; Palsson et al , 2013). Such sectors and their practices promise alternative ways of analyzing and thinking about sustainable development, thereby enriching the content of ESD and providing students with deeper knowledge and understanding (Egan et al , 2004; Hensley, 2020). There is a second benefit of this type of interdisciplinary initiatives: drawing approaches from underrepresented sectors makes ESD more relevant and accessible to students from these disciplines, thereby increasing the likelihood that they will choose to be exposed to content on sustainability.…”

Poängen med lärande utomhus : pedagogiska perspektiv

“…Det finns också en växande litteratur om platsers sammanlänkade karaktär och den politiska makten i att förstå dem. Plumwoods (2008) begrepp shadow places kan vara hjälpsamt då men också Cronon (1992) och Hensley (2020) ger goda argument för vikten av att se platser i ett större sammanhang, där fler röster får höras.…”