Exploring Black Environmental Thought at Yale University
‘Black Environmental Thought’
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Yale University's Environmental Humanities program, launched in 2018, integrates environmental themes with humanities studies. A graduate class, co-taught by Jonathan Howard, examines Olaudah Equiano's perspective on the transatlantic slave trade, emphasizing the unique insights of Black literature on humanity's relationship with nature.
- 01Yale's Environmental Humanities program fosters interdisciplinary dialogue on environmental issues.
- 02The graduate class focuses on Olaudah Equiano's firsthand account of the slave trade.
- 03Jonathan Howard emphasizes the significance of Black literature in understanding human-nature relationships.
- 04Equiano's emotional responses highlight the complexities of Black experiences with the natural world.
- 05Howard's personal experiences inform his teaching and understanding of environmental themes.
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Yale University's Environmental Humanities program, initiated in 2018, aims to bridge environmental issues with the humanities. A notable graduate class, co-taught by Jonathan Howard (assistant professor of English and Black studies), delves into Olaudah Equiano's autobiography, which provides a rare enslaved perspective on the transatlantic slave trade. The course encourages students to reflect on Equiano's mixed emotions of astonishment and terror upon encountering the sea and his captors. Howard argues that Black literature offers unique insights into humanity's relationship with nature, shaped by historical complexities. His own experiences growing up in inner-city Philadelphia, where he first saw the ocean at 16, resonate with the themes discussed in class, emphasizing the profound impact of such encounters.
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