WIAS Visiting Researcher Seminar:
“Discursive Ecologies: Talking and Acting Our Way into Ecological Futures” (11/4)
Abstract
This is a time of accelerating ecological breakdown, where climate change, biodiversity loss, and social instability are deeply entangled. Much of the focus has been on technologies, policies, and data, but far less attention has been given to the role of language itself. This seminar introduces the idea of discursive ecologies: the ways systems of language, meaning, and power actively shape how we understand and respond to ecological change. Drawing on ecology, philosophy, and systems thinking, this seminar considers how language not only describes the world, but it also fundamentally creates it. By rethinking how we talk and act, this seminar talk suggests that everyday discourse can become a practical site for cultivating more relational and adaptive ecological futures.
Speakers
GLADWIN, Derek (Associate Professor of Education, and Faculty Associate in the Institute for Resources, Environment, and Sustainability, at the University of British Columbia)
Date&Time
November 4, 2026 (Wed.) 14:00 – 15:00
Venue
Room #712, Building #19, Waseda Campus, Waseda University (tentative)
Prospected Audience
Students, Graduate students, Faculty members, Research members, General Participants
Language
English
Organizer
Waseda Institute for Advanced Studies (WIAS)
Registration
Free; pre-registration not required.
