spring 2023 non-credit course

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SPRING 2023—SCIENCE, RELIGION, AND THE ENVIRONMENT

Participants may attend as many sessions as they choose. The course does not require previous knowledge of the subjects. Open to the Cornell and Ithaca College communities. Others who are interested in attending may e-mail [email protected]

How can we care for our common home? We live in a period of planetary crisis marked by ecological collapse, loss of biodiversity, changing weather patterns with impact to infrastructure, food supply, and public health. These challenges have motivated the development of new technologies and new directions in scientific research, as well as in religious reflection and theological thought. Over the course of the semester, we will study the history of Biblical interpretations about the environment, natural law theory, frameworks for sustainability and justice, the "Green encyclical, "Laudato Si'," and consider several disciplinary responses to our planetary challenges.

Where: 236 Goldwin Smith Hall
When: 5-6:30 PM on Thursdays 2/2, 2/16, 3/2, 3/16, 3/30, 4/13; pizza or other dinner will be served!
Who: The course is open to all in the Cornell community. Undergraduates also have the option  sign up for the course as Undergraduate Fellows.
Instructors: Prof. Kieran Donaghy (Cornell University, Department of City and Regional Planning), Prof. Poppy McLeod (Cornell University, Department of Communication), Prof. Jeanne Moseley (Cornell University, Department of Public and Ecosystem Health), Prof. Michael Twomey (Ithaca College, Department of English)
 

Course Schedule

1/26 @ 7 PM (Anabel Taylor Auditorium, 230): Public Screening of "The Letter: A Messgae for Our Earth." Not required for course participants, but encouraged (plus, there will be snacks!)

2/2: A Theology of the Present Moment? Theology, Science, Truth, and Meaning (Kieran Donaghy, Cornell University, City and Regional Planning)

Recommended Reading: Marilynne Robinson, "A Theology of the Present Moment," New York Review of Books, Dec. 22, 2022, pp.  Linked HERE
Further Food for Thought: Mike Wall, "The Big Bang: What Really Happened at Our Universe's Birth?" (Space.com); Paul Caron, "Pope Benedict Was No Conservative: He was Something Much more Suprising" (Opinion Essay in NY Times, Jan. 8, 2023).

2/16: Interpreting the Bible on the Environment (Michael Twomey, Ithaca College, English, Medieval Studies, and Environmental Humanities)

Reading: (Scripture, Canticle of the Sun, St. Francis of Assisi) found here. (3 pages)

3/2: Markets and Morality (Kieran Donaghy, Cornell University, City and Regional Planning)

Reading: Excerpts from Laudato Si' found here (4 pages).

3/16: Human and Planetary Healing in a Global Context (Jeanne Moseley, Cornell University, College of Veterinary Medicine, Department of Public & Ecosystem Health)

Reading: "Asters and Goldenrod," from Robin Wall Kimmerer, Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge, and the Teachings of Plants (Milkweed Editions, 2013), 39-47.

3/30: Addressing Environmental Issues: Communication and Change (Poppy McLeod, Cornell University, Department of Communication)

4/13: Natural Law Theory and Its Relevance to the Environment (Michael Twomey, Ithaca College, English, Medieval Studies, and Environmental Humanities)

This project is made possible by the grant, "In Lumine: Supporting the Catholic Intellectual Tradition on College Campuses Nationwide," (Grant #62372) from the John Templeton Foundation.