This past week I had the incredible honor of returning to my alma mater, The Evergreen State College, where I completed a Bachelor of Arts back in 2001. I could not have researched or written Downwind without the training I received at Evergreen, an interdisciplinary college of the arts and sciences founded on inquiry and critical thinking. A concern for social and environmental justice underscores many of the programs at Evergreen, which blend research from various disciplines to consider a central question or theme. Four programs attended my talk: In Search of Lost Time, Where Are You: Introduction to Geography and Geographical Awareness, Counter Narratives: Songs and Stories Across Cultures, and Cultural Landscapes: Sustainable Communities, Environmental Justice and the Media.
Honestly, I was ready to re-enroll right there. Each of the programs sounded incredible and worthy and fascinating.
It was a thrill to discuss the power of interdisciplinary research for reckoning with pressing social and environmental problems with a group of scholars all deeply invested in doing similar work.
Thanks for having me back, Greeners....
and thank you to my longtime mentor and former professor Sam Schrager, who gave me a really lovely introduction, and who taught me so much of what I know. (Look for a quote from him in Downwind)...