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ETW: Leading the Conversation on the Environment and Building Resilient Futures, Fall 2025
Wilkinson College is committed to leading the conversation in our community on issues of humanity, unity, and justice. As such, the college has undertaken semester-long examinations of key societal issues including the significance of race, environmental justice, ethnic studies, health equity, and gender and sexuality. These interdisciplinary, campus-wide conversations promote thoughtful dialogue; mindful reflection; social tolerance; awareness and respect; peace and kindness.Our purpose for the 2025 ETW series is to promote informed, sustained, and enriching dialogues through an in-depth exploration on the environment and building resilient futures.
The ETW Focus on environment and building resilient futures will:
- Examine how natural, social, and political environments both shape and are shaped by institutions and social structures.
- Explore the social and legal ramifications regarding environmental issues impacting communities.
- Explore the sociopolitical structures that influence discourse and debates concerning the environment and the possibilities in building resilient futures considering climate change, conflict, and political change.
- Inquire into how innovation, lived experience, and power intersect as communities respond to current and future challenges presented by dynamic environments.
Fall 2025 Events
Tuesday, December 2, 2025
Environment and Building Resilient Futures Faculty Panel
Beckman Hall 404
11:30 a.m.
Download flyer
Join Chapman scholars Richelle Tanner, Skye Niles, and Christine O’Connell for a panel
discussion led by moderator Angela Lederach.
Fall 2025 Past Events
NOVEMBER 2025
Martin Puchner: Literature for a Changing Planet
This event was a conversation about four thousand years of world literature drawing
vital lessons about how we put ourselves on the path of climate change—and how we
might change paths before it’s too late.
This Changes Everything Film Discussion
Students, faculty, and staff joined us for a screening of This Changes Everything, a documentary inspired by Naomi Klein’s international bestseller of the same title.
The screening was followed by a discussion with Chapman scholars Kyle Harp-Rushing,
Richelle Tanner, and Skye Niles.
OCTOBER 2025
Strategies to Protect our Climate: Lessons from Solidarity with Indigenous Peoples
Cross-Culture Center
Through firsthand insights and shared experiences, the discussion highlighted how
solidarity with Indigenous communities offers vital strategies for protecting our
planet.
Kristi Lippire: Stepanova – Color and Form: The Shaping of Embodied Knowledge in theGuggenheim Gallery
This solo exhibition by Los Angeles-based sculptor and educator explored how architectural
forms and urban memory are shaped and reimagined through the lens of color, design
history, and feminist critique.
Christian Nationalism, White Supremacy, and the Future of Democracy
Leading scholars Andrew Whitehead, Heidi Beirich, and Joseph Baker led a discussion
moderated by Pete Simi.
KEYNOTE: An Evening with Nadia Murad: A Conversation with Wilkinson College of Arts,
Humanities, and Social Sciences Dean Jennifer Keene
Nadia Murad is the first United Nations Goodwill Ambassador for the Dignity of Survivors
of Human Trafficking and was named "Woman of the Year" by Glamour Magazine. Her best-selling
memoir, The Last Girl: My Story of Captivity and My Fight Against the Islamic State,
is a harrowing account of her imprisonment, escape, and the beginning of her advocacy.
As founder and president of Nadia's Initiative, she globally advocates for survivors
of sexual violence and engages in sustainable development with communities in crisis.
Red Flag Warning with Margaret Elysia Garcia
Co-editor Margaret Elysia Garcia dicussed the impacts that wildfires have on our communities.
SEPTEMBER 2025
Hold Our Ground Film Screening with Jamie Jacobsen
Screening and Q&A with Filmmaker Jaime Jacobsen about her work with Colorado farmers as they negotiate the changing soil
and weather conditions impacting their growing seasons.
Conversation with Rosanna Xia
The author of California Against the Sea, Rosanna Xia, discussed climate chaos in California and what can be done about it.
We Can’t be Safe and Free Until Palestinians Are Safe and Free: American Jewish Solidarity
with Palestinians
Atalia Omer, professor of Religion, Conflict and Peace Studies, reflected on the complex
interplay between social and political factors that influence beliefs, behaviors,
and opportunities.
Committee Members
Chair:
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Stephanie Takaragawa, Associate Dean, Wilkinson College of Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences
Committee:
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Julia Ainley (Program Manager)
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Sandra Alvarez (WCAHSS Political Science)
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Corrado Confalorieri (WCAHSS World Languages and Cultures)
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Angela Lederach (WCAHSS Peace and Justice Studies)
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Joshua Liashenko (WCAHSS Sociology)
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Christine O’Connell (Schmid College, Biological Sciences)
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David Shafie (WCAHSS Political Science)
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Mary Shockey (Development Coordinator, Wilkinson Dean's Office)
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Pete Simi (WCAHSS Sociology)
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Richelle Tanner (WCAHSS Environmental Science & Policy
Learn More!
To learn more about this program, contact Associate Professor of Sociology, Associate Dean of Wilkinson College of Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences, Dr. Stephanie Takaragawa.