Muhlenberg College Center For Ethics Presents Series On Sustainability
This fall, the Muhlenberg College Center for Ethics will present a series of programs titled Sustainable Communities: Balancing Economy, Ecology, and Justice.Wednesday, August 27, 2003 01:53 PM
This fall, the Muhlenberg College Center for Ethics will present a series of programs titled Sustainable Communities: Balancing Economy, Ecology, and Justice. Through interactive programming, presentations, and classroom activities, the Center encourages investigation of social practices in our local college community, as American citizens, and across diverse cultures. Most events are free and open to the public. For details, visit www.muhlenberg.edu/cultural/ethicsand click on the Sustainable Communities icon.
Schedule of Events
What Is Sustainability: A Community Roundtable Discussion
Wednesday, September 3
Miller Forum, Moyer Hall, 7 p.m.
Muhlenberg faculty will introduce the concept of sustainability from various disciplines including biology, economics, history, philosophy and sociology. Brief presentations will be followed by discussion including the audience.
Gary Snyder: Poetry Reading
Monday, September 8
Miller Forum, Moyer Hall, 7 p.m.
Recipient of many awards for poetry and nature writing, Gary Snyder is one of the most eloquent and reflective American poets to speak about the human place in the natural world. Known for his work on bioregions and watersheds that is both inspiring and compelling, Snyder calls upon humans to be loving and responsible stewards of the land and members of a vibrant and harmonious human-land community. This event is co-sponsored by the Living Writers program.
Film: “The Next Industrial Revolution: William McDonough, Michael Braungart and the Birth of the Sustainable Economy”
Wednesday, September 10
Miller Forum, Moyer Hall, 7 p.m.
This 55-minute documentary chronicles the work of architect William McDonough and chemist Michael Braungart, whose worked helped to bring more environmentally friendly design and practices to industries such as Nike, Ford Motor Company, Design Tex and Oberlin College.
Political Theorist Richard Matthews: "The earth belongs in usufruct to the living": Jeffersonian Values for the 21st Century
Tuesday, September 16
Time and location TBA – check www.muhlenberg.edu/cultural/ethics for updates.
NEH Distinguished Professor in the department of political science at Lehigh University, Professor Matthews will discuss how the Jeffersonian vision of a democratic community circles around his radical theory that "the earth belongs in usufruct to the living." Implicitly ecological at its core, Jefferson's “utopian" notions offer contemporary Americans ways to think about politics, government, and what it means to be human that stand as an indictment of the American conception of the good life.
Terri Swearingen: Community Organizing and Environmental Activism
Tuesday, October 14
Miller Forum, Moyer Hall, 7 p.m.
Recipient of the Goldman Environmental Prize, Terri Swearingen became a community organizer when a toxic waste incinerator was planned for her town in the Ohio Valley in the early 1990s--right next to an elementary school. She will share her story and the lessons she learned about the important role of citizens in fighting for livable communities.
Tom Hylton: Land Use in Pennsylvania
Monday, October 20
Miller Forum, Moyer Hall, 7 p.m.
Winner of a Pulitzer prize for his articles on land use planning, author of “Save Our Land, Save Our Towns“and chairman of the Pottstown Planning Commission, Tom Hylton will present a slide show on land use in Pennsylvania.
Can We Grow Sustainably? A panel discussion on land use in our communities
Tuesday, October 28
Miller Forum, Moyer Hall, 7 p.m.
Farmland and open space are turning to subdivisions and strip malls while available land in city-centers remains undeveloped. This panel will discuss specific challenges to Pennsylvania--shared by communities in neighboring New Jersey--that includes the perspectives of local land use professionals, citizens groups, elected officials, and developers. What is currently being done in Pennsylvania to promote more sustainable land use practices? How can we as citizens play an active role in shaping the land use decisions that affect our lives?
Sustainable Agriculture
Wednesday, November 5
Miller Forum, Moyer Hall, 7 p.m.
Local farmers and merchants talk about the possibilities and challenges of growing food that is organic or grown locally.
Sustainable Communities Across the World
Wednesday, November 12
Miller Forum, Moyer Hall, 7 p.m.
The speakers at this roundtable will discuss the challenges of sustainable development and present slides of a visit to several remote islands around the globe in 2001-2002, examining how some communities have sought to remain economically self-sufficient, preserve their natural resources and retain their cultural identities while facing the pressures of globalization.
Other Related Events:
· Charitable Organization Sponsorship – The College community will support FINCA, a non-profit organization that offers loans to low-income communities through the village banking method, in which loans are a renewable resource that, once repaid, continue to stimulate yet other fledgling businesses.
· Homelessness Awareness Week – November 17-21, 2003
Spring 2004 events:
· Photographic exhibit curated by Professor Joseph Elliott, Art department
· Theatrical Performance by Muhlenberg students under the direction of Professor Beth Schachter
· Workshop: Is the Lutheran Church Sustainable?”
