EARTHSYS 120A: Climates of Inequality (EARTHSYS 220A)

Course Description

This course is a partnership with community-based partners, Climate Resilient Communities and artists in East Palo Alto to develop an interactive multimedia exhibition about the history of environmental justice struggles in East Palo Alto. The multimedia exhibition is part of a larger nationwide project called Climates of Inequality. Climates of Inequality have worked with Universities and communities in over 20 cities across the US and around the world. Local teams work together to activate the histories of `frontline¿ communities: those who have contributed the least to the climate crisis but bear its heaviest burdens. The multimedia portraits expose the roots of current environmental injustice, and share generations of frontline communities¿ strategies for resistance, resilience, and mitigation. The project promotes a future vision for confronting the climate crisis that understands, and resists environmental harms. By compiling these histories in an evolving internationally traveling exhibit with local events at every stop, this project seeks to affirm frontline communities¿ work and inspire others to action for climate and environmental justice. Students will collaborate with our community partners to collect oral histories and create a podcast project that will accompany the exhibition. Students will also engage with literature to understand the rise in economic inequality in Silicon Valley and the relationship between economic inequality and environmental injustice. This is a Cardinal Course designated by the Haas Center for Public Service.