Climate change presents a major challenge for our time. It is expected to greatly increase global temperatures, “natural” disasters, political instability, war, disease, drought, and famine in this century. Its impacts are far-reaching and distributed unequally. In this conference, we aim to make progress toward addressing climate change, both by addressing the philosophical challenges it raises, and by bringing philosophers, practitioners, and organizers together to advocate for sustainable practices in teaching, research, administration, advocacy, and community engagement.
Our main themes are:
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- Moral and political responses to climate change: challenges pertaining to climate justice, inequality, indigenous rights, migration, individual responsibility, responses to disaster and emergency
- The role and responsibility of philosophers in research, teaching and course design, service, and in the public domain: effective teaching about climate change, sustainable practices within philosophy, public philosophy, and the role of philosophers in on- and off-campus advocacy
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The conference will be held virtually via Zoom, and will include keynote sessions, pre-read and/or pre-watched talks with live Q&A, live panel discussions, moderated workshops and forums, and informal discussion time. Registration is free of charge.
Conference Schedule
(All times listed in East Coast USA/Canada time; convert times here)
Thursday
12pm (EST) Welcome Remarks
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- Conference Organizers: Simona Capisani (Harvard University) & Eugene Chislenko (Temple University)
12:30-1:45pm (EST) Symposium: Reconceiving Structural Change (pre-watch / pre-read with live Q&A)
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- Chair: Kian Mintz-Woo (University College Cork)
- “Climate Change, Individualism, and Structuralism” — Michael Brownstein (John Jay College / CUNY Graduate Center), Alex Madva (Cal Poly Pomona) and Dan Kelly (Purdue)
- “Climate Migration in the Pluriverse” — Romy Opperman (The New School)
- “Democracy, Justice, and Socially Sustainable Energy” — Eric Godoy (Illinois State University)
2:15-3:30pm (EST) Symposium: Philosophical Cases for Climate Action (pre-watch / pre-read with live Q&A)
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- Chair: Britta Clark (Harvard University)
- “Philosophers as Advocates for Reparative Climate Justice”– Ben Almassi (Governors State University)
- “Taking Down-to-Earth and Timely Action: An Axiological Examination of Climate Policymaking” — Li-An Yu (Bielefeld University)
- “Axis of Betrayal: The Human Rights Case Against Fracking and Climate Change” — Kathleen Dean Moore (Oregon State University) and Tom Kerns (North Seattle College)
4-5:30pm (EST) Keynote: Marion Hourdequin (Colorado College), “Climate Change, Climate Action, and Intergenerational Ethics”
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- Introduction and chair: Allen Thompson (Oregon State University)
5:45-6:30pm (EST) Post-Conference Hangout (food and drinks welcome)
Friday
10-11:30am (EST) Panel Discussion: Climate Crisis and the Politics of Scale
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- Panel Organizer and Moderator: Olúfẹ́mi O. Táíwò (Georgetown University)
- Participants: Shuchi Talati (Carbon 180), Michael Thompson (Carnegie Climate Governance Initiative), Beba Cibralic (Georgetown University)
12-1:15pm (EST) Symposium: Teaching the Climate Crisis (pre-watch / pre-read with live Q&A)
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- Chair: Evelyn Brister (Rochester Institute of Technology)
- “Engaged Philosophy: Switching “On” Student Power” — Ramona Ilea (Pacific University), Susan Hawthorne (St. Catherine University), and Monica Janzen (Anoka Ramsey Community College)
- “How can Philosophy Classes Help Students with Climate Communication?” — Stephen Gardiner (University of Washington) and Colin Marshall (University of Washington)
2-3pm (EST) Minorities and Philosophy Workshop
3:30-4:45 (EST) Keynote: Bill McKibben (350.org) in Conversation with Andrew Light (George Mason University)
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- Introduction and chair: Simona Capisani (Harvard University)
5:00-6:00pm (EST) Post-Conference Hangout (food and drinks welcome)
Saturday
9:00-9:45am (EST) Pre-Conference Hangout (food and drinks welcome)
10-11:30am (EST) Panel Discussion: Should Philosophers be (Climate) Activists?
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- Panel Organizer and Moderator: Robin Zheng (Yale-NUS College)
- Participants: Rose Lenehan (UCLA), Gabrielle Bussell (Eastern Michigan University), Vanessa Wills (George Washington University), Tyler Zimmer (University of Chicago)
12-1pm (EST): Workshop: Building a Climate Movement
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- Aru Shiney-Ajay (Director of Strategic Planning, Sunrise Movement)
- Luis Marchese (Distributed Organizer, Sunrise Movement)
2-3:30pm (EST) Keynote: Kyle Whyte (University of Michigan), “Roles for Philosophers in Disrupting Climate Crisis Narratives”
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- Introduction and chairs: Julia Gibson (Queen’s University) and Jeremy Bendik-Keymer (Case Western Reserve)
4:00-5:15 pm (EST) Philosophers for Sustainability Strategic Planning Forum: Next Steps for our Field
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- Forum Moderator: Rebecca Millsop (University of Rhode Island)
