Wayfinding in Crisis: Genealogies of Cli

“Our violence towards the Earth springs from, and is modeled on, our violence towards other human beings.” — Amitav Ghosh in conversation with Lucia Pietroiusti, Guggenheim Museum, February 5, 2022

Many contemporary artists are trying to find sustainable and equitable ways of operating in a global economy hellbent on growth no matter the cost, including extinction. If, as Earth inhabitants in the Anthropocene, we are all contributing to the current climate crisis, we can also be among the millions of solutions needed. In this class, we will expand our climate awareness and process our climate grief by learning lessons from non-human entities, Indigenous teachings and traditions, and current legal actions and grassroots activism against extractivism and the legacies of conquest, imperialism, and settler colonialism. In hopes for a more livable earth, Ben Okri’s concept of “existential creativity,” Amitav Ghosh’s call for a return to animist storytelling, Four Arrows’ goal for mainstream education to adopt Indigenous worldviews, and recent art that proposes the possibility of a regenerative future will be our guides.

A variety of media and content will be covered including the work of Gloria E. Anzaldúa, Artists Commit, Richard Bell, Octavia Butler, Rachel Carson, Meehan Crist, Ben Davis, Torkwase Dyson, Extinction Rebellion, Carolyn Finney, Fridays for Future, Dina Gilio-Whitaker, Amitav Ghosh, Linda Goode Bryant, The Harrison Studio, Katharine Hayhoe, Ayana Elizabeth Johnson, Yun Ko-eun, Bill McKibben, Gustav Metzger, Timothy Morton, Darcia Narvaez, The Natural History Museum, Ben Okri, Lucia Pietroiusti, Kim Stanley Robinson, Mary Robinson, Astra Taylor, Mierle Laderman Ukeles, Wahinkpe Topa (Four Arrows) aka Donald Trent Jacobs, Robin Wall Kimmerer, Elvia Wilk, Isabel Wilkerson, and Tyson Yunkaporta. Class guests and field trips will include artists and thinkers working on the precipice of climate education, action, healing, and justice.