Sustainable Practices Workshops for Philosophers
Beginning in 2021-22, Philosophers for Sustainability is organizing an ongoing series of local Sustainable Practices in Philosophy Workshops for philosophy departments and philosophical communities. These structured discussions provide an opportunity for participants to identify and discuss next steps toward sustainable practices, both individually and collectively. They often work best when they are led by one or more members of the community, and we are happy to consult with you as you lead an event. We are also available to lead workshops, usually over Zoom.
Workshops are typically 75-90 minutes, either on Zoom or in person; a condensed 20-30 minute version as part of a faculty meeting can also be very useful, and doing both in tandem can work especially well. We ask that workshop participants pre-read our nine-page Guidelines for Sustainable Practices in Philosophy, now also included in the American Philosophical Association’s Good Practices Guide (Section 9: Sustainability). These guidelines offer recommendations in various areas at different levels of scale, and offer a starting point for discussion. For those leading a workshop, we have put together a brief Guide for Facilitators, and are developing an in-progress Extended Workshop Guide that includes step-by-step suggestions and sample emails. We also have sets of sample slides, linked here and here.
We would love to hear from you if you are interested in leading a local Sustainable Practices in Philosophy workshop or hosting a workshop that we facilitate or co-lead with you. Please get in touch with us using this Host a Workshop form.
If you have already led a Sustainable Practices workshop, we would love to hear how it went. Please send us your feedback and celebrations using this Workshop Report form.
Workshop Program Coordinators:
- Eugene Chislenko (Temple University)
- Amanda Corris (University of Minnesota)
- Kaitlin Pettit (University of Utah)
"We were happy to have Eugene Chislenko from Philosophers for Sustainability to give us a workshop on Sustainability Activism during the NSU Nordic Environmental Ethics Winter Symposium 2021. It was eye-opening to see how we are in a position to advance sustainability goals through our profession. The participants felt really inspired about the workshop, which eventually led to establishing a regional group that meets regularly to further discuss these matters."