Producing Results

Session Objective: to assess how distribution, recognition, and participation intersect to create outcomes and enhance (in)justice

This week, we begin our wrap-up of the course. Climates of Resistance ends where it began: with a reflection on where we are and want to be in regard to environmental racism, as individuals and a collective. During Unit 5 on (Re)Orientation, we will consider what we have learned, how environmental racism around the world can be transformed into environmental justice, and how we can be part of that.

We have covered quite a lot of territory this semester...both geographically, in the range of our case studies, and theoretically, as we examined various issues and concepts. This week’s Learning Log invites you to ‘connect the dots’, considering how the ‘pillars’ of environmental justice this course was organised around – distribution, recognition, and participation – shape each other.

Map: the status of environmental inequities and collective action movements around the world with the Environmental Justice Atlas. Choose at least one case from this database to investigate in some detail for today’s Learning Log.

EJAtlas | Mapping Environmental JusticeMapping ecological conflicts and spaces of resistance

Unearth: the long-term impacts of environmental injustice through this archaeological investigation of colonialism, climate change, and community resilience on Island Nations. As you read, consider what the article’s findings suggest about the need for interdisciplinary and mutiscalar action.

Archaeology, environmental justice, and climate change on islands of the Caribbean and southwestern Indian OceanClimate change impacts island communities all over the world. Sea-level rise, an increase in the frequency and intensity of severe weather events, and changes in distribution and health of marine organisms are among the most significant processes affecting island communities worldwide. On islands of the Caribbean and southwestern Indian Ocean (SWIO), however, today’s climate change impacts are magnified by historical environmental injustice and colonial legacies, which have heightened the vulnerability of human and other biotic communities. For some islands, archaeological and paleoecological research offers an important record of precolonial climate change and its interplay with human lives and landscapes. The archaeological record suggests strategies and mechanisms that can inform discussions of resilience in the face of climate change. We detail climate-related challenges facing island Caribbean and SWIO communities using archaeological and paleoecological evidence for past climate change and human response and argue that these cannot be successfully addressed without an understanding of the processes that have, over time, disrupted livelihoods, reshaped land- and seascapes, threatened intergenerational ecological knowledge transfer, and led to increased inequality and climate vulnerability.

Kristina Douglass is an archaeologist whose current work investigates human-environment interaction in Madagascar. She integrates archaeological, paleoecological, ethnohistorical, ethnographic, and biological data to understand the dynamic relationship between communities and their environment over time.

Dr Douglass’ work aims to bridge divides between anthropology, conservation and development, while critically addressing the role of archaeological narratives of human environmental impact in conservation and policy discourse. Her work contributes to current debates over conservation, extinction, and sustainability in one of the world’s biodiversity hotspots, with the view that archaeological data can help refine approaches to modern-day conservation issues and build more holistic understandings of human-environment dynamics.

Jago Cooper studied at the Institute of Archaeology, University College London, where he developed his interests in Latin American Archaeology and Human-Environment Dynamics. Jago then worked on rescue excavations in and around London for the Museum of London Archaeology Service and Wessex Archaeology before returning to the Institute of Archaeology UCL to complete his masters and doctoral research.

Dr Cooper joined the School of Archaeology and Ancient History at the University of Leicester in 2007 as a Lecturer in Archaeology. In 2008, Jago was awarded a Leverhulme Early Career Fellowship for a three year research project about The Archaeology of Climate Change in the Caribbean. In October 2012, he was appointed as the Curator and Head of the Americas at the British Museum.

Consider: reparations, one of the most tangible ways to redress environmental racism and systemic injustice. The articles below discuss examples of reparations around the world, and call for further programs.
(By the way: When Britain abolished the Slave Trade, reparations were made...to slave owners. The UK didn’t complete those payoffs until 2015, and has never paid reparations to those who were enslaved or their descendants, despite ongoing calls to do so.)

Rwandan reparations fund breaks ground but is still not enough, say victimsThis article tells the story of the Genocide Survivors Assistance Fund (FARG), created by the Rwandan government and still in operation today. It shows how in a country without resources it was still possible to set up a reparations system, albeit imperfect.

Stolen generations survivors to get $73m in NSW compensation packageSome survivors say offer of $75,000 each a positive first step, while others call it an ‘insult’ compared with a lifetime of damage wrought by government policies

The Thorny History of Reparations in the United StatesIn the 20th century, the country issued reparations for Japanese American internment, Native land seizures, massacres and police brutality. Will slavery be next?

To Native Americans, reparations can vary from having sovereignty to just being heardTo Native Americans, reparations can vary from sovereignty and land to being heard

Why we need reparations for Black AmericansRashawn Ray and Andre Perry outline the history of reparations in the United States, missed opportunities to redress the racial wealth gap, and specific details for a viable reparations package for Black Americans.

The case for climate reparationsEither we allow climate migrants to move in, or we compensate these refugees financially for the damages caused by our greenhouse gas emissions.

Appreciate: the intersection of distribution, recognition, and participation in shaping environmental (in)justice as you examine this piece from Lindsay Adams’ “Quarantine Chronicles”.

Lindsay Adams' piece "Justice." This sketch shows five people in the front of the image. One in the middle in a white dress with long and curly hair holds a white sign that reads "Justice" in all capital letters. To their right are two more people, one in a pink shirt and red skirt, and another in a white dress. To the center person's left is a person with a beard in grey t-shirt and jeans and another in a black top and a black and white skirt. Behind all of them are the outlines of a city with a solid orange-ish red as a the base color.

Visual Artist Lindsay Adams studied International Studies: World Politics and Diplomacy and Spanish, while minoring in Studio Art at The University of Richmond, before working as a Marketing Consultant. Her passion for communication and sharing experiences has transcended through both her visual and written expression. Living with Cerebral Palsy, she works as a disability advocate to educate others about the needs and experiences of the disability community and promotes equity and representation across different spaces.

As a Black woman, her deep understanding of the human experience, and the depths of intersectionality is showcased throughout her art, combining figures, lines, colour, and abstraction. Adams is committed to furthering and embracing her artistic journey and career, and is constantly seeking new ways to translate life experiences through art. She embraces her struggles, differences, and vulnerabilities and seeks to translate these expressions across her work.

Complete: your Learning Log for this session via the form below.

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