Professor Ursula K. Heise, recipient of the 6th Biophilia Award in Environmental Humanities and Social Sciences, reflects on the role of the humanities in understanding the global ecological crisis. Heise analyzes how narratives, culture, and critical thinking shape the way we perceive biodiversity and climate change. She presents her concept of “eco-cosmopolitanism,” an environmental ethic that connects the local with a planetary consciousness, and addresses the cultural biases that influence species conservation. Throughout the conversation, she explores how the environmental humanities can help imagine more sustainable futures in the face of the risks threatening life on Earth.
Ursula K. Heise was awarded for “advancing the development and global application of the field of Environmental Humanities.” Over the past two decades, the Professor of Literary Studies at the University of
Professor Ursula K. Heise, recipient of the 6th Biophilia Award in Environmental Humanities and Social Sciences, reflects on the role of the humanities in understanding the global ecological crisis. Heise analyzes how narratives, culture, and critical thinking shape the way we perceive biodiversity and climate change. She presents her concept of “eco-cosmopolitanism,” an environmental ethic that connects the local with a planetary consciousness, and addresses the cultural biases that influence species conservation. Throughout the conversation, she explores how the environmental humanities can help imagine more sustainable futures in the face of the risks threatening life on Earth.
Ursula K. Heise was awarded for “advancing the development and global application of the field of Environmental Humanities.” Over the past two decades, the Professor of Literary Studies at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), “has explored, through her pioneering research, the diverse forms that environmental thought, narrative, and activism take across different regions of the world,” as highlighted by the award jury.
00:00 Introduction
00:09 An academic vocation inspired by the intelligence of an animal
01:02 An innovative field of research that addresses the environmental crisis from the humanities
01:58 “Eco-cosmopolitanism”: an environmental ethic that connects the local scale with a planetary consciousness
03:28 Protected vertebrates and overlooked plants: cultural biases in biodiversity conservation
05:08 Optimism and pessimism in the face of threats to life on Earth
