Environmental Humanities

https://environmentalhumanities.yale.edu
Graduate Certificate in Environmental Humanities

Program Director and Director of Graduate Studies
Paul Sabin (HQ, Room 218; paul.sabin@yale.edu)

Affiliated Faculty Anthony Acciavatti (School of Architecture), Giulia Accornero (Music), Santiago Acosta (Spanish and Portuguese), Alvita Akiboh (History), Rene Almeling (Sociology), Sunil Amrith (History), Laura Barraclough (American Studies), Paola Bertucci (History; History of Science and Medicine), Ned Blackhawk (History; American Studies), Malina Buturovic (Classics), Jill Campbell (English), Allison Caplan (History of Art), Carol Carpenter (School of the Environment), Oksana Chefranova (Film and Media Studies), Deborah Coen (History of Science and Medicine), Edward Cooke, Jr. (History of Art), Ivano Dal Prete (History), Ryan Darr (Divinity School), Amity Doolittle (School of the Environment), Michael Dove (School of the Environment; Anthropology), Fabian Drixler (History), Keller Easterling (Architecture), Justin Farrell (School of the Environment), Paul Freedman (History), Jay Gitlin (History), Robert Harms (History), Alanna Hickey (English), Hi'ilei Hobart (Ethnicity, Race, and Migration), Jonathan Howard (English; African American Studies), Cajetan Iheka (English), Matthew Jacobson (American Studies; African American Studies; History), Jill Jarvis (French), Elleza Kelley (English; African American Studies), Verlyn Klinkenborg (English; School of the Environment), Jonathan Kramnick (English), Douglas Kysar (Law School), Anthony Leiserowitz (School of the Environment), Pauline LeVen (Classics), Katja Lindskog (English), J.G. Manning (Classics; History), Millicent Marcus (Italian), Lisa Messeri (Anthropology), Alan Mikhail (History), Charles Musser (American Studies; Film and Media Studies; Theater Studies), Luna Najera (Spanish and Portuguese), Fatima Naqvi (German; Film and Media Studies), Morgan Ng (History of Art), John Peters (English; Film and Media Studies), Richard Prum (Ecology and Evolutionary Biology), Jennifer Raab (History of Art), Joanna Radin (History of Science and Medicine; Anthropology; History), William Rankin (History), Carolyn Roberts (History of Science and Medicine; African American Studies), Douglas Rogers (Anthropology), Elihu Rubin (School of Architecture; American Studies), Paul Sabin (History; American Studies), Oswald Schmitz (School of the Environment; Ecology and Environmental Biology), Stuart Schwartz (History), Lloyd Sy (English), Rasheed Tazudeen (English), Gary Tomlinson (Music; Humanities), Gerald Torres (School of Environment; Law School), Jane Tylus (Italian), Michael Warner (English; American Studies), Harvey Weiss (Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations; School of the Environment), Nurfadzilah Yahaya (History), Carl Zimmer (Adjunct; School of Medicine)

Graduate Certificate in Environmental Humanities

Yale Environmental Humanities aims to deepen our understanding of the ways that culture is intertwined with nature and to contribute to a broad interdisciplinary conversation about humanity and the fate of the planet. Humanities scholars have an opportunity to reshape how we think about environmental problems and “the environment” itself. In turn, interdisciplinary dialogue with scientists and social scientists can stimulate the humanities in productive ways, raising new research questions and providing fresh ways to approach long-standing issues. As an interdisciplinary initiative, Yale Environmental Humanities draws particularly on faculty and courses from across the humanities departments, including American Studies, Anthropology, English and other literature departments, Film and Media Studies, History, History of Art, and Music, as well as from professional schools, including Architecture, Divinity, Drama, Environment, and Public Health.

The Graduate Certificate in Environmental Humanities is available to students already enrolled in a Ph.D. program at Yale who seek to establish a strong foundation in environmental humanities topics and methodologies across the humanities disciplines. Students who complete the graduate certificate will gain skills working in interdisciplinary environmental settings and representing humanities perspectives on a broad range of environmental topics. Interested students are strongly encouraged to register for the certificate by meeting with the director of graduate studies (DGS) during their first year.

Special Requirements for the Graduate Certificate in Environmental Humanities

Students who wish to receive the certificate must complete the following course work, research, and teaching requirements:

  1. Three approved graduate or professional school courses focusing entirely or substantially on environmental themes, broadly defined. At least one of the courses should involve approximately 50 percent of its material from outside a student’s home department or discipline. In consultation with the DGS and the student’s Environmental Humanities adviser (who can also be their departmental adviser), each student is expected to organize their elective courses around a concentration related to their departmental course work and doctoral research. Elective courses will be chosen from a list of the environmental humanities graduate courses that are being offered each term.
  2. Two terms of the Environmental Humanities certificate workshop, Topics in the Environmental Humanities (HIST 5804 and HIST 5805). Students must complete both a fall term and a spring term of the workshop, but the two terms of student participation need not be consecutive. Topics in the Environmental Humanities is a half-credit course that will be offered in both the fall and spring terms (one credit total). Academic credit from the workshop course typically does not count toward departmental course work requirements.
  3. Students must demonstrate the capacity to pursue independent, interdisciplinary research in environmental humanities by presenting a qualifying paper at a meeting of the Environmental Humanities workshop, Graduate Research Symposium, or other approved venue.
  4. Students must fulfill a teaching requirement by serving as a teaching fellow for an approved environmental humanities course or by completing an approved public humanities project. Other options are possible if appropriate teaching opportunities are not available.

Each of these requirements will require approval from the DGS of Environmental Humanities. Additional certificate program information, including the application and requirements checklist for the certificate, is available on the Environmental Humanities website (https://environmentalhumanities.yale.edu) or by contacting environmentalhumanities@yale.edu.

Certificate Workshop

HIST 5804a and HIST 5805b / ANTH 8897a and ANTH 8898b / HSAR 6841a and HSAR 6842b / HSHM 7691a and HSHM 7692b, Topics in the Environmental HumanitiesPaul Sabin

This is the required workshop for the Graduate Certificate in Environmental Humanities. The workshop meets six times per term to explore concepts, methods, and pedagogy in the environmental humanities, and to share student and faculty research. Each student pursuing the Graduate Certificate in Environmental Humanities must complete both a fall term and a spring term of the workshop, but the two terms of student participation need not be consecutive. The fall term each year emphasizes key concepts and major intellectual currents. The spring term each year emphasizes pedagogy, methods, and public practice. Specific topics vary each year. Students who have previously enrolled in the course may audit the course in a subsequent year. This course does not count toward the coursework requirement in history. Open only to students pursuing the Graduate Certificate in Environmental Humanities.  ½ Course cr per term
T 11:30am-1:20pm

HIST 5805b / ANTH 8898b / HSAR 6842b / HSHM 7692b, Topics in the Environmental HumanitiesPaul Sabin

This is the required workshop for the Graduate Certificate in Environmental Humanities. The workshop meets six times per term to explore concepts, methods, and pedagogy in the environmental humanities, and to share student and faculty research. Each student pursuing the Graduate Certificate in Environmental Humanities must complete both a fall term and a spring term of the workshop, but the two terms of student participation need not be consecutive. The fall term each year emphasizes key concepts and major intellectual currents. The spring term each year emphasizes pedagogy, methods, and public practice. Specific topics vary each year. Students who have previously enrolled in the course may audit the course in a subsequent year. This course does not count toward the coursework requirement in history. Open only to students pursuing the Graduate Certificate in Environmental Humanities. This course does not count toward the coursework requirement in history.  ½ Course cr
M 11:30am-1:20pm