Rationale for Conference and Corresponding Undergraduate Course:
Indigenous people are disproportionately affected by climate change and natural disasters, yet they are often marginalized from policy and academic discussions. Moreover, discussion of indigenous people and climate change opens up much broader discussion about environmental epistemologies across diverse cultures, as well as environmental management, race and class dynamics, and the intersection of local, national, and global issues.
To expose students to these issues, there will be both this May 23-24, 2012 conference and a corresponding new upper division Robert D. Clark Honors College course taught by Professor Mark Carey on “Climate and Culture in the Americas” during Spring 2012. For more information on the Climate Course , click here or on the Climate Course tab above.
At the conference, students from a diversity of disciplines will present research related to climate and culture in the Americas alongside faculty and graduate students. Students will present their research in either oral paper panels or poster sessions, and a broader local and regional community will be invited to participate, including American Indian and Alaska Native students from tribal colleges and others from native communities. This conference is part of a series of events on Indigenous Peoples in the Americas during academic year 2011-2012 sponsored by the Americas in a Globalized World Big Idea. For more information contact Mark Carey in the Robert D. Clark Honors College or the Center for Latino/a and Latin American Studies.
The conference is sponsored by the Americas in a Globalized World Big Idea at the University of Oregon, with additional funding from the Center for Latino/a and Latin American Studies, the College of Arts and Sciences, Office of Institutional Equity and Diversity, Robert D. Clark Honors College, Latin American Studies, Environmental Studies Program, Climate Change Research Group, and other campus units.
Conference Goals:
– Facilitate interaction among native and non-native communities on climate change, environmental, and cultural issues
– Increase knowledge of non-native students about climate change and indigenous peoples
– Foster discourse between indigenous leaders and students
– Put climate change and indigenous peoples issues into comparative international context (by focusing on issues throughout the Americas)
– Provide opportunities for undergraduate and graduate students to present research and gain professional experience
– Expose the UO community to issues related to indigenous peoples and climate change
