Climate Crisis – CAT FooD

Welcome CCL to Xavier’s Campus

Bart EversonSeptember 14, 2023Leave a comment

Over the last few months, I've been working with Citizens' Climate Lobby to bring their 9th annual regional conference to Xavier's campus. The effort includes a bunch of volunteers as well as Xavier's own Director of Sustainability, the indefatigable Helena Robinson.

Strictly speaking, this is not a CAT+FD event. It's not traditional faculty development. Yet the climate crisis is something that affects every one of us. It affects our students most of all, since they will see more pronounced effects in their lifetimes — as compared to those (like me) who were born way back in the 20th century.

There are many ways to get active in the movement for climate action. This conference is one way. I do hope you'll consider learning more on the registration site.

CAT+FD will present opportunities to address climate and sustainability in your teaching in the near future.

Xavier Faculty Are Making Climate a Class

Bart EversonMarch 30, 2023March 31, 2023Leave a comment

The World-Wide Teach-In is underway now, and we're doing our part here at Xavier University of Louisiana. A number of professors already have or soon will MakeClimateAClass.

Rev. Gregory Manning spoke to Dr. Mark Gstohl's Christian Faith class, and wow! — what a powerful message. See pic below.
With her XCOR 1011 Food Matters class, Dr. Elizabeth Yost Hammer discussed a provocative essay by famed scholar Yuval Noah Harari, "Industrial Farming Is One of the Worst Crimes in History."
Dr. Jason Todd used ChatGPT to help write a microlecture on climate fiction for XCOR 3010 Dystopias, Real and Imagined.

Thanks to Helena Robinson, Director of Sustainability, for helping to spread the news with this graphic.

There's still time to participate in the teach-in this year. See Bard College for details.

Did we miss anyone? Did you #MakeClimateAClass? Let us know!

How to “Make Climate a Class”

Bart EversonDecember 5, 2022December 6, 2022Leave a comment

This spring, we invite you to "Make Climate a Class" for just one day, as part of the Worldwide Teach-In on Climate and Justice on or around March 29th, 2023.

Can you do it? Yes, you can! Here's what we mean:

Devote a short portion of your regular class time to a discussion of how your field contributes to the understanding of climate change, or climate solutions, or climate justice. Bring it into the classroom. If even a few Xavier faculty do this, we will engage hundreds of students in a positive focus on the climate crisis.

Here’s what we suggest:

Tell students you are taking a short diversion into climate. Tell them it's as a part of the Worldwide Teach-in. For 15 minutes, introduce an example of how your discipline is thinking about climate change. Then have a 15-minute presentation from an alumnus or colleague who is actually working on climate change. Thirty minutes, DONE.

Climate change touches every field — from artists to entrepreneurs, from philosophers to scientists. Our courses can inspire students to see how they can be leaders in the critical work ahead to stabilize the climate.

Examples:

If you teach literature, talk about the emergent genre of climate fiction ("cli-fi") or a specific work of climate fiction. Then engage your students in discussion.
If you are in STEM, assign students a problem related to climate change or climate solutions.
If you teach a class related to food systems, discuss the impacts of climate change on agriculture and the food supply.
If you are in the social and behavioral sciences, discuss the human dimensions of climate change and climate justice. (For a neuroscience-informed perspective, you might take a look at Ann-Christine Duhaime's new book, Minding the Climate, subject of a recent interview in the New York Times.)

The possibilities are endless.

Students will appreciate the chance to learn how your field relates to an issue that is of major consequence for literally everyone on the planet. They'll appreciate seeing a pathway to solving climate that goes beyond lifestyle choices and political action, as important as those may be.

CAT+FD is here to help. Reach out if you'd like to brainstorm ideas, or if you have a specific question, or just to let us know that you're thinking about it.

Footnote: This post is adapted from the "Letter to faculty who spoke in 2022 teach-in"

Save the Date to Save the Climate

Bart EversonNovember 9, 2022November 8, 2022Leave a comment

Yes yes yes we know this semester is crazy! But we just wanted to ask you to save the date now for something very interesting next semester.

Here's what's up:

As part of the Worldwide Teach-In on Climate and Justice, we invite you to "Make Climate a Class" on just one day in the spring semester.

This means you would devote a short portion of your regular class time to a discussion of how your field contributes to the understanding of climate change, climate solutions, or climate justice.

It doesn't matter if your class has nothing to do with the climate crisis. In fact, that's so much the better. The idea to reach as many students as possible, all around the world.

Tell students you are taking a short diversion into climate as part of the Worldwide Teach-in. Then for 15 minutes, introduce an example of how your discipline is thinking about climate change. Then have a 15-minute presentation from an alumnus or other professional who is actually working on climate change in your field. Thirty minutes, DONE.

We'll be posting more information in December. For now, we're just planting the seed. We urge you to save the date now. Mark it on your calendar on or around March 29th, 2023. If past experience is any indicator, next semester could be even crazier, so any dates not saved may well be lost in the shuffle.

PS: We'll be using this hashtag:
#MakeClimateAClass