social justice

Seminars Addressing Environmental Equity and Justice

March 16, 2022

The GCSC Seminar Series has featured a number of speakers whose research and scholarship address issues related to equity, justice, and the environment. Log in to Canvas with your U of U network ID to view these seminars.

Aradhna Tripati, Institute of the Environment and Sustainability, UCLA. February 26, 2019, ″Frontiers in the study of past climate and environmental change: From new tracers to piloting a new inclusive science model”  Read more.

David Pellow, Environmental Studies, Global Environmental Justice Project, UC Santa Barbara. April 16, 2019, ″Toward a Critical Environmental Justice: Exploring State Violence and the Settler Colonial Conflicts” Read more.

Jeff Rose, University of Utah Parks, Recreation, and Tourism. November 5, 2019 “Homelessness, Political Ecology, and Critical Sustainability”
A critical spatial approach to unsheltered homelessness positions it as both a social and environmental justice concern that confronts common understandings of sustainability.  

Elizabeth Kronk Warner, Dean, S.J. Quincy College of Law. January 14, 2020, “Tribal Environmental Law”  Read more.

Julie Sze, Professor of American Studies at UC Davis. September 22, 2020 “Interdisciplinarity, Intersectionality and Environmental Justice: The Time is Now ”
What role can colleges and universities in particular, and specific fields (sustainability, environmental policy, etc.)  play in addressing climate and other crises?   

Daniel Mendoza, Department of Atmospheric Sciences, University of Utah. October 13, 2020, “The confluence of air quality, urban development, health, and social justice”  Read more.

Liliana Caughman, Faculty, Native Environmental Science, Northwest Indian College. April 13, 2021, “From Climate Action to Climate Justice: How scenarios, partnerships, and community priorities are driving equitable urban sustainability and resilience planning in Portland, Oregon”  Read more.

Stacy Harwood, City and Metropolitan Planning, University of Utah. September 14, 2021, “Everyday Racism in Integrated Spaces”
Many college campuses promote themselves as integrated multicultural spaces where students from diverse backgrounds live, study, and play together in unity. This study reveals that many students of color experience racial hostility and exclusion in their daily routines.  

Heather Tanana, College of Law, University of Utah. October 19, 2021, “Universal Access to Clean Water for Tribal Communities”
 Lack of clean water access in tribal communities threatens public health and economic growth.  Read more.

Faculty recognized for critical research efforts during the pandemic

April 13, 2021

These GCSC faculty affiliates were recognized for their efforts on critical health and social justice issues brought on, or exacerbated by, the COVID-19 pandemic.

 

The following is excerpted from a story by Rebecca Walsh in At the U.

Some of the best long-term, basic research is often made immediately relevant by current events.

The COVID-19 pandemic and social justice disparities have transformed everything from the way Americans buy groceries to how we work and play. University of Utah faculty are responding with innovative projects that explore virus transmission, unequal access to healthcare, and how members of our community talk about their lives during a time when the country faces critical social issues.

With those forces in mind, University of Utah Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs Dan Reed has named a new cohort of Banner Project recipients—nearly two dozen researchers, teachers and librarians who are working to generate new knowledge and document this extraordinary time in human history.

“The faculty members working on these projects deserve recognition for taking on some of the thorniest problems facing our society,” Reed said. “This scholarly work will help us improve COVID-19 treatments; weather this global health crisis; expand access to health care; and bridge the social, economic and racial differences that divide us.”

The Banner Project recognizes mid-career faculty who are intellectual and thought leaders, not only at the U, but also in the community. “The goal is to put faces to the world-class scholarship, groundbreaking discoveries, unique innovations and creative works generated by our scholars,” Reed added.

Students initiate study on air pollution and unhoused people

November 23, 2020

Who in city government tracks the environmental effects of air pollution on people experiencing homelessness? When students in the 2019 Global Changes and Society class looked into it, they found that there was not an office with that responsibility. Initially, students set out to change that missing piece. But those efforts have now also resulted in a study published in the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, as part of a special issues “Addressing public health and health inequities in marginalized and hidden populations.”

The project-based course Global Changes and Society (SUST 6000) features guest lecturers with expertise in research related to global changes and sustainability. In this course, students from different disciplines Identify a theme or focus area, begin to learn the language and approaches of other disciplines around the theme, explore perspectives and approaches of different stakeholders, and develop a team project. Recognizing that there are disproportionate environmental impacts on certain socially and geographically vulnerable communities in the Salt Lake Valley, students in the 2019 class developed projects to address some of these issues.

The student group with members including Angelina DeMarco and Rebecca Hardenbrook (GCSC Fellow 2018-19) noted that during poor air quality events such as inversions, wildfires, and heightened ozone periods, residents are urged to stay indoors when possible, but people affected by homelessness don’t have the luxury of escaping indoors on short notice to avoid poor air conditions. But it appeared that no-one had researched the effects of poor air quality on this population.

Read about the research project these students developed with GCSC faculty affiliates Daniel Mendoza (Atmospheric Sciences and City & Metropolitan Planning) and Jeff Rose (Parks, Recreation and Tourism) in At the U.

GCSC Seminar – Sara Yeo “The Science of Science Communication”

 “The Science of Science Communication”  sara k. yeo, Assistant Professor, Department of communication, university of utah

4:00 pm | 210 ASB

  • Abstract: Communication is crucial as science becomes increasingly enmeshed in society. As scientists and communicators, we have often relied on intuition when communicating about our work to public audiences. In this talk, I first articulate the importance of empirical science communication research in service to the practice of engaging publics in conversations about complex topics. Then, I offer a sampling of my recent research projects and directions for the future of the science of science communication.

 

GCSC Seminar – Kari Norgaard “Climate Change as Strategic Opportunity: Imagination, Responsibility, and Community”

“Climate Change as Strategic Opportunity: Imagination, Responsibility, and Community” – Kari Norgaard, DEPT. of Sociology, U. of Oregon

Climate change poses profound ecological, social and political crises, but also opportunities to re-imagine our responsibilities to one another and the natural world and to create community. This talk draws upon fieldwork on climate denial and Norgaard’s present climate adaptation work with the Karuk Tribe.