Understand the Anthropocene through the fields of anthropology, archaeology, art, history, literature, philosophy and religion. Transdisciplinary dialogue makes ecological subjects and problems relatable to a variety of career fields and enhances our planning for socioecological resilience.

Why study Environmental Arts and Humanities at Sewanee?

This major examines environmental issues by integrating the diverse perspectives offered by anthropology, history, literature, philosophy, religion, and visual studies. While you’ll be encouraged to pursue your own specific interests in environmental arts and humanities, the major includes three interrelated components of common study.

First, it offers a grounding in environmental science and policy. Second, it examines how the areas of environmental arts and humanities inform and are informed by the perspectives of environmental science and policy. Finally, as the defining core of the major, you will explore how the arts and humanities enrich our understanding of humanity's complex, evolving relation to the world we inhabit and inform our responses to the many dimensions of environmental issues.

First Destinations: Environmental Arts & Humanities Majors

Sewanee graduates secure positions in a variety of fields. Some you would expect, others are a bit of a surprise. Sewanee prepares you for your profession and your passion. Below is a sampling of recent graduates' first jobs.

  • Research editorial staff in marketing & communications, Bonefish Tarpon Trust, Coral Gables, Florida.
  • Outdoor adventure program staff, City Kids Wilderness Project, Jackson, Wyoming.
  • Logistics analyst, Bellhops, Chattanooga, Tennessee.
  • Future Leaders Program associate for the Environment Health, Safety, and Sustainability Program, GlaxoSmithKline, Research Triangle Park, North Carolina.
  • Education Director, Wild Bird Fund, Manhattan, New York
GRADUATE SCHOOL & PRE-PROFESSIONAL PROGRAMS: ENVIRONMENTAL ARTS & HUMANITIES MAJORS

Sewanee graduates enjoy extraordinary acceptance rates to top graduate and pre-professional programs–about 95 percent to law school and over 85 percent to medical school. Below is a sampling of where Sewanee grads continue their education.

  • M.S. in environmental science and management, Johns Hopkins University.
  • M.S. in environmental policy, University of Cambridge.

A Sampling of Courses

Introduction to Environmental Arts & Humanities
Environmental Studies

This course acquaints students with the diverse perspectives on ecology and environmental issues through the lenses of literature, history, art history, classical studies, folklore, music, philosophy, anthropology, and religion. Students bridge three or more of these fields in an original research project that develops a novel approach to understanding an environmental topic or that offers a route to mediating a particular environmental concern.

ENST 200
The Lens and the Landscape: Documentary Studies and the Environment
Art

This course studies the human, ecological, and environmental histories of the region through the lens and practice of documentary production. In collaboration with historians, archaeologists, and biologists, students develop individual and group projects to create short documentaries about a range of topics focused on the past and present environmental conditions of the Domain and its surroundings.

ART 242
Environmental and Biological Nonfiction
Environmental Studies

An examination of contemporary intersections among literature, journalism, biological science, and the study of the environment, supplemented by readings of 19th- and 20th-century antecedents. Assignments allow students to develop their own writing abilities in these areas. Consideration is also given to the relationships among nonfiction, fiction, and other forms of creative expression.

ENST 250
Buddhism and the Environment
Religion

An investigation of Buddhist images, symbols, stories, doctrines, ethics, and practices as they relate to understanding the environment and humanity's relationship with it. Classical texts as well as modern commentaries by Buddhist teachers, writers, and activists will be examined.

RELG 353
Environmental Arts and Humanities Capstone
Capstone

A flexible, student-driven capstone experience for Environmental Arts and Humanities majors. Each student crafts their own project, usually on a topic that builds on past experience and looks toward future opportunities to address environmental issues. Cooperative and substantive peer discussion and critique are central processes in the class, drawing on the strength of the community to help each student deepen their work.

ENST 400
Ethics and the Anthropocene
RELG 135

This course examines the ethical dilemmas related to anthropogenic alterations to the climate and biosphere including mass human migrations, species loss, and the quandaries posed by end-stage global capitalism.

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Environmental Arts & Humanities

Programs of Study & Related Programs

Requirements for the Major in Environmental Arts & Humanities

Requirements for the Major in Environment & Sustainability | Website

Requirements for the Minor in Environmental Studies | Website

Requirements for the Major & Minor in Forestry | Website

Requirements for the Major & Minor in Geology | Website

Requirements for the Major in Natural Resources & the Environment | Website

Requirements for the Minor in Religion & Environment | Website

Meet some professors

Celeste Ray
cray@sewanee.edu

Celeste Ray's courses engage students in researching biocultural diversity and considering the relevance of traditional ecological knowledge in addressing contemporary environmental issues. A two-time National Geographic Explorer, Ray's current fieldwork considers holy wells and sacred springs, particularly in Ireland. She trained in Ecological Anthropology and Iron Age Archaeology at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, the University of Edinburgh, Scotland and the University of Florida. Some of her eight books have considered Historical Ecology, Sacred Waters and landscapes linked to ethnic and national identities.

Professor of Environmental Arts and Humanities and Anthropology
Sid Brown
sbrown@sewanee.edu

Sid Brown teaches in the area of Asian religions, specializing in Theravada Buddhism. Dr. Brown also focuses on religious responses to environmental issues and religious conceptions of relationships between human and other-than-human animals. She has been studying Buddhism since 1982. During her years earning a B.A. in philosophy and an M.A. and Ph.D. in religious studies, she researched and lived in India, Sri Lanka, Japan, and Thailand.

Professor and Chair of Religious studies
James R. Peters
jpeters@sewanee.edu

James Peters' interest in philosophy began when his family left the predictable suburbs of Chicago and moved out into the country. There, he fell in love with the rural landscape and began a lifelong passionate interest in the natural world. Out of a love of natural things emerged a love of asking fundamental questions. It was during explorations of local woodlots and fields that Peters experienced his first sense of philosophical wonder. His interests are ancient and medieval philosophy, environmental ethics, and philosophical theology.

Professor of Philosophy
David Haskell
dghaskell.com

David Haskell’s classes focus on helping students to become better writers and more astute observers of the living world. His books, The Forest Unseen and The Songs of Trees, are acclaimed for their integration of science, poetry, and rich attention to the living world. Among their honors include the National Academies’ Best Book Award, John Burroughs Medal, finalist for Pulitzer Prize, Iris Book Award, Reed Environmental Writing Award, National Outdoor Book Award for Natural History Literature, and runner-up for the 2013 PEN E. O. Wilson Literary Science Writing Award. His next book, Sounds Wild and Broken, will be published in March 2022. Haskell received his BA from the University of Oxford and PhD from Cornell University. He is a Guggenheim Fellow and William R. Kenan Jr. Professor at the University of the South in Sewanee, TN. Find him at dghaskell.com or on social media @DGHaskell (Twitter), DavidGeorgeHaskell (Instagram and Facebook).

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Contact

Celeste Ray

director of Environmental Arts & Humanities program, Chair of Anthropology


cray@sewanee.edu

 

The Domain: An Immersive Experience

Integrated Program in the Environment
6 Majors, 6 Minors, 13,000 Acres

Sewanee's Integrated Program in the Environment is one of the premier collections of environmental offerings in the country. A working farm, a 13,000-acre forest, and well-funded internships offer opportunities to apply your classroom learning. An expansive curriculum—including natural and social sciences as well as the humanities and fine arts—offers students multiple pathways for gaining an understanding of the ecological complexity and wonder of the earth we inhabit.

Explore Your Options
Stewardship & Sustainability
Hands-on Experience

The Office of Environmental Stewardship and Sustainability offers students myriad opportunities to engage with the outdoors. Whether your passions are natural resources management, food production, animal care, field research, or sustainability, there's a place for you to get your hands dirty on the Domain!

Get Involved
The University Farm
Where Growth Happens

The University Farm offers students a transformative experience through the immersive and intimate practice of restorative agriculture. At the farm you'll find many opportunities to enhance your education and connect with the history of agriculture. And if you’re lucky, there will be some baby goats around during finals.

Yes, I love baby goats