Engineering Justice

This class has spent a lot of time exploring art as a platform for teaching, resistance, and collective action. But science can do that too! 

Academia has often been critiqued as an Ivory Tower, where scholars cut themselves off from the realities of the world and exist in a privileged bubble, while Western science often demeans other forms of knowing the world. The way we create and share environmental knowledge can thus contribute to environmental injustice - or, through public participation in research processes, be a powerful platform for environmental justice.

This Learning Log explores participation in environmental research and education, thinking about how community-centric approaches to environmental problems and holistic responses to resource inequalities can create a wide array of additional benefits.

Dr Jamila Bargach is the co-founder of Dar Si Hmad, which operates the world’s largest operational fog harvesting project. The system not only delivers potable water to Amazigh households, but also fosters the independence of women in the community. An anthropologist by training, Jamila has taught at University Mohammed V in Rabat and worked at a number of NGOs in Morocco and overseas. She has also published several articles on adoption practices, unwed mothers, gender and development, and the DSH fog initiative. As an activist and scholar, Jamila has dedicated her life to serving under-resourced communities, creating sustainable initiatives through education, and scientific innovation.