Can You Imagine a World Without Birdsong?
<p>In discussing Rachel Carson’s influence as a writer and activist, Williams notes the use of metaphor — the absence of bird song — as a means of conveying the profound impact of the widespread use of pesticides.</p>
<p>She further goes on to describe Carson’s ongoing influence on her own work as a writer and activist: “Her synthesis of science and art and lyrical language... she really set the bar for me as one who could never reconcile my love of the sciences and the humanities, and what Rachel Carson showed us is there is no separation.”</p>
In this video recollection, author and conservation activist Terry Tempest Williams describes her first encounter with Rachel Carson’s <em>Silent Spring</em> and the ethical questions shared by her grandmother about taking personal responsibility for the natural world. As she says of this moment, “On that day, I became an environmentalist.”<br />
<p>In discussing Carson’s influence as a writer and activist, Williams notes the use of metaphor—the absence of bird song—as a means of conveying the profound impact of the widespread use of pesticides.</p>
<p>She further goes on to describe Carson’s ongoing influence on her own work as a writer and activist: “Her synthesis of science and art and lyrical language... she really set the bar for me as one who could never reconcile my love of the sciences and the humanities, and what Rachel Carson showed us is there is no separation.”</p>
<em>Silent Spring</em> by Rachel Carson
Terry Tempest Williams, author, conservationist, activist
terry-tempest-williams-world-without-birdsong
How I Came to Oppose the Death Penalty
Grammy-winning singer-songwriter Steve Earle discusses the impact of witnessing his father write a letter to the Texas governor on behalf of a condemned man in San Antonio. Having already begun to reflect on the importance of political engagement and the ethics of capital punishment, Earle felt especially moved by both the book and film version of Truman Capote’s <em>In Cold Blood</em> in the late 1960s. In tandem, these experiences contributed to his becoming a passionate advocate against the death penalty.
Truman Capote
<em>In Cold Blood</em> by Truman Capote
1965
Steve Earle, singer-songwriter
steve-earle-how-i-came-to-oppose-the-death-penalty
Deciding Not to Be a Doctor
<p>Larry Kramer, president of the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, went to college expecting to become a doctor, but taking a course on religious ethics and moral issues shifted his direction. To him, the humanities allow us to be introspective and to understand our lives from a larger point of view, which leads to a more revealing and enriching human experience.</p>
<p>To celebrate its 40th year anniversary of grant making, programming, and partnerships that connect Californians to each other, California Humanities invited a group of 40 prominent Californians to explore what the humanities mean to them. For more information visit <a href="http://calhum.org/about/we-are-the-humanities" title="California Humanities: We Are the Humanities" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">California Humanities: We Are the Humanities</a>.</p>
California Humanities
Larry Kramer, president of the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation
<a href="https://www.youtube.com/static?template=terms">Standard YouTube License</a>
larry-kramer-deciding-not-to-be-a-doctor
From Aesthetic Shock to Ethical Awakening: How an Environmental Artist and Activist Found Purpose
Environmental activist, photographer, and teacher Subhankar Banerjee recounts a time, shortly after moving to New Mexico, when he walked out of his house to encounter a small dead bird lying motionless on the porch. This humble, private moment of grief, confusion, and aesthetic complexity echoed the sensations he had previously felt while viewing Albert Pinkham Ryder’s 19th-century painting “The Dead Bird.” As Banerjee’s career has evolved to address the large-scale crisis of global biological annihilation, he still emphasizes that this small interaction between the human and non-human affected him profoundly and set him on a lifelong ethical journey.
Subhankar Banerjee, environmental activist, photographer, and professor at the University of New Mexico
subhankar-banerjee-aesthetics-ethics