Writing Climate

Posted in Announcements Symposia

Join us on March 25-27, 2025 with speakers including Amitav Ghosh, Omar El Akkad, Claire Vaye Watkins, Kumi Naidoo, and a reading from Susan Sarandon!

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ABOUT WRITING CLIMATE
The climate crisis is forcing humanity to ask itself uncomfortable questions: Where are we and where are we going? What can we do as individuals, as writers, activists, and scientists, to forestall and ameliorate the coming disasters? We are at a reckoning point, maybe even past it. What new ideas do we need to think about, what reappraisals? These times demand that we imagine a fundamental shift in thinking about human existence. Can literature play a role in helping that shift?

Hosted by the Lannan Center, the Earth Commons, Climate Rights International, and Georgetown Humanities Initiative, the symposium will explore the intersection of literature, science, and activism around climate change. We are inviting top practitioners in the field. This will be an opportunity to think together about new possibilities, and about each of our roles in building these possibilities.

Each of the three nights will center around a theme at the junction of climate and literature. The first night’s theme will be “Earth/Land,” the second “Climate Action,” and the third “The Future.”

All events are free and open to the public. For accessibility requests, please email: pg654@georgetown.edu.

This event is presented as part of Voices on the Environment , a series of events at the intersection of science, the humanities and the arts that link environmental journalism, literary writing, activist performance, and critical approaches to climate change, the environment, and language.

TUESDAY, MARCH 25TH: EARTH/LAND
Location: Gaston Hall

6:00-6:30PM | A Performance by the LubDub Theatre Co.

7:00PM | Keynote discussion with Amitav Ghosh, moderated by journalist Razia Iqbal.

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 26TH: CLIMATE ACTION
Location: Lohrfink Auditorium

(Directions to Lohrfink Auditorium)

5:00-6:00PM | Panel on Indigenous Peoples and Land featuring Linnea Axelsson and dg nanouk okpik, moderated by Mary Kathryn Nagle.

6:00-7:00PM | Student Art Showcase

7:00-8:00PM | Keynote discussion with Kumi Naidoo, moderated by Brad Adams (Climate Rights International)

THURSDAY, MARCH 27TH: THE FUTURE
Location: Lohrfink Auditorium

(Directions to Lohrfink Auditorium)

5:30PM | A Reading from Silent Spring by Susan Sarandon.

6:00-7:00PM | A Conversation on Climate & Biology with evolutionary biologist Dr. Dino J. Martins and author Aminatta Forna.

7:00-8:00PM | Keynote Panel featuring Omar El Akkad and Claire Vaye Watkins, moderated by New York Times contributor Aida Alami.