IAS faculty present at the Washington & Oregon Higher Education Sustainability Conference

IAS faculty members Jennifer Atkinson, Martha Groom, and Rob Turner presented at the Washington & Oregon Higher Education Sustainability Conference (WOHESC) on February 27. Their panel, "Progressive Paradise to Dystopian Persistence: Discussing the Goalposts of Sustainability with Students and Peers," explored how sustainability-oriented teaching has shifted over time. The panel discussed how projections of the future constructed with students and peers frame the challenge of sustainability, and how those changing projections influence both the methods for pursuing sustainability and our capacities to act. Panelists also acknowledged feelings of grief and despair over our current state of climate affairs, and the tension this creates as educators strive to project a sense of hope and agency to students. Finally, the session looked at ways educators might inspire students and colleagues to work towards a future that we hope to see, instead of what we fear will come to pass.