We are excited to announce that Middlebury will be joining hundreds of educational institutions around the world (in more than 50 countries and most US states) in the Worldwide Teach-In on Climate Change during the first week of April, 2024. We are looking to continue ongoing campus-wide conversations and engage our students, who are coming of age in an age of planetary crisis and transformation.
During the week of April 1-8, we ask all faculty to consider devoting at least five minutes of their classroom time to a conversation about climate solutions and justice so that we can engage as many of our community members as possible. This could be a conversation that extends or relates to something already on the syllabus, or it could explore a new and different topic. Some possible conversation topics include:
- What are your students’ (and your own) personal experiences with climate change?
- What can, and should, Middlebury be offering to young people at this historical crossroads?
- How does your class and/or discipline directly speak to climate justice and solutions and if not, how do we change that?
While many classes already explicitly cover climate change, you may find some of these resources helpful in approaching these topics in your discipline.Please fill out this form to help us track course participation as soon as possible.
In addition to class and group discussions during the week, we will be coordinating various events, and are always open to suggestions. Please take note of this year’s Scott A. Margolin ‘99 Lecture in Environmental Affairs:
- April 4 7:00-8:00pm Bi Hall 216: “No Future for Us? Young People’s Climate Anxiety and the Future of Reproduction” with Jade Sasser, Associate Professor in the Department of Gender & Sexuality Studies at the University of California, Riverside
Middlebury has been involved with in this initiative several times - last year’s event included participation from more than 40 faculty - from Economics, Environmental Studies, Psychology, Sociology, Theatre, Arabic, Geology, Dance, Computer Science, English, and other fields, reaching (by some conservative estimates) over 500 students. We heard amazing feedback from faculty and students. This year we are hoping to reach the majority of our campus community!
The climate teach-in is organized by a group of Economics and Environmental Studies Faculty, in partnership with Middlebury’s Climate Action Program and Franklin Environmental Center at Hillcrest.
Please confirm your participation by filling out the below form, and feel free to reach out directly to Julia Berazneva (jberazneva@middlebury.edu) or Minna Brown (mbbrown@middlebury.edu) with questions or ideas.
Thank you!
