Scholars Gather for Race and Environment Panel

WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass., Nov. 16, 2010 -- It will be moderated by Jennifer French, director of the Center for Environmental Studies.

The four speakers on the panel include Professor Kimberly Smith of Carleton College, Professor Lizabeth Paravisini-Gebert of Vassar, Professor Jorge Marcone of Rutgers and Professor Steve Chase of Antioch University.

Professor Smith will speak on “Fresh Peaches: Alice Walker’s Ecowomanism.” Smith is an associate professor political science and environmental studies at Carleton, as well as president of the Association of Environmental Studies and Sciences.  She has published three books, the most recent titled "African American Environmental Thought: Foundations" (2007), was named Outstanding Academic Title by Choice Magazine in 2008. Smith is also the author of "Wendell Berry and the Agrarian Tradition: A Common Grace" (2003) and "The Dominion of Voice: Riot, Reason and Romance in Antebellum Politics" (1999), which was awarded the 2001 Merle Curti Intellectual History Award by the Organization of American Historians.

Professor Paravisini-Gebert's portion of the panel is titled "The Ecological Costs of Colonization: Haiti's Deeply Compromised Environment." Paravisini-Gebert is a professor of Hispanic Studies and the director of environmental studies and of Latin American and Latino/a Studies at Vassar. She is the author or co-author of a number of books, including "Literatures of the Caribbean" (2008), "Creole Religions of the Caribbean" (2003), "Jamaica Kincaid: A Critical Companion" (1999) and "Phyllis Shand Allfrey: A Caribbean Life" (1996). Her current projects include "Glimpses of Hell," a study of the aftermath of the 1902 eruption of the Mont Pelée volcano of Martinique; "José Martí: A Life," a biography of the Cuban patriot; and "Endangered Species: The Environment and the Discourse of the Caribbean Nation."

Professor Marcone will give remarks on the topic of “Hidden in Weeds: Ecology in U.S. Latino Literature." Marcone is an associate professor in the department of Spanish and Portuguese, the program in comparative literature and the center for Latin American Studies at Rutgers. Marcone specializes in the history of environmental aesthetics and ecological thinking in Hispanic literatures and cultures. His current projects include a study of the impact of ecological ideas and post-humanist discourses in Latin American, U.S. Latino/a, and Spanish literatures since the end of the Cold War and within the context of a boom of environmental activism in the Hispanic world. He was a visiting professor at Williams during 2004-05.

Professor Chase will speak on “Beyond Book Learning: Reflections on an Environmental Justice Field Studies Trip to Louisiana's ‘Cancer Alley.’" Chase is the a professor of environmental studies and the founding director of Antioch's environmental studies master's program concentration in advocacy for social justice and sustainability. He is also the co-founder of the Transition Keene Task Force. Chase wrote the introduction for the book "Defending the Earth: A Dialog Between Murray Bookchin and Dave Foreman." His essay "Changing the Nature of Environmental Studies: Teaching Environmental Justice to 'Mainstream' Students" was published in The Environmental Justice Reader. Other articles and essays have appeared in Orion, Terra Nova, Whole Terrain, and The Journal of Multicultural Environmental Education.

The panel is sponsored by the Programs in Africana Studies, Latino/a Studies, American Studies, International Studies, and Comparative Literature, the Departments of Romance Languages and English, the Multicultural Center and the Center for Environmental Studies. 

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