Climate Change: Fighting for the Future of Our Planet Summer Scholars Session II
Pope Francis’ landmark 2015 encyclical Laudato Si’ (Praise Be): Care for Our Common Home made clear the ways in which climate change and other environmental problems are rooted in our societal structures and personal behaviors. In this course we will critically examine climate change—its causes, consequences, and solutions—from a scientific viewpoint filtered through political, economic, social, cultural, and theological lenses. The course will include lectures and discussions; group- and self-exploration and projects; and reading and writing assignments. The goal is to build a holistic understanding of climate change that encompasses both cognitive (intellectual) and affective (inner, emotional) learning. Prior experience in science or religion is not required; the ideal class will be comprised of students from a wide variety of backgrounds and interests.
Course Schedule
This course will be offered during Summer Scholars Session II (June 29-July 13, 2024) on campus.
Academic Directors
Philip J. Sakimoto
Dr. Phil Sakimoto is Director of the Minor in Sustainability with responsibilities that include overseeing student progress and senior capstone projects, developing campus-wide sustainability-related curricula, teaching sustainability courses, engaging in related public outreach, and developing community partnerships. He was formerly the Program Manager and Acting Director of NASA’s Space Science Education and Public Outreach Program as well as the manager of a wide variety of NASA student development and diversity programs. At Notre Dame he has been the Director of the Program for Academic Excellence in the Center for University Advising and a diversity and outreach specialist for the Department of Physics. Dr. Sakimoto received his B.A. in physics from Pomona College and his M.A. and Ph.D. in astronomy from UCLA.
Michelle Marvin
Dr. Michelle Marvin is an Assistant Teaching Professor and the Associate Director of the Writing Center at the University of Notre Dame, where her responsibilities span mentorship and administration of a diverse team of 55 undergraduate and graduate writing tutors across eight campus locations. As a professor, she teaches multimedia writing and rhetoric courses and leads graduate workshops in scientific and technical communication. Beyond her primary academic and administrative duties, Dr. Marvin serves as faculty in Notre Dame's Inspired Leadership Initiative (ILI), where she co-teaches a Great Books course, introducing adult fellows to foundational texts of the liberal arts, and she co-leads a humanities writing course for the Warrior-Scholar Project, aimed at assisting military veterans in transitioning to college life. Dr. Marvin deeply values literature and writing as a means of fostering critical thinking, effective communication, and lifelong learning among students of all ages and backgrounds. Dr. Marvin holds a Ph.D. from Notre Dame, an M.A.T.S. from St. Bernard’s, and an M.Ed. from Roberts Wesleyan University.