Professor: Christine M Martínez
Institution: Bates College
Location: Lewiston, Maine, USA
Course: Introduction to Environmental Humanities
I include the English version of Constellation of the Commons in my last unit of the semester, which is focused on proposing alternatives to the social and environmental issues explored in prior semester units. While the course teaches the consequences of colonial and consumerist ways of inhabiting space and literacy of these dynamics in contemporary cultural production, this particular activity is focused on extant initiatives and movements that are actively generating alternatives. I have students research various alternatives in groups and present them to the class. The Constellation of the Commons is easy to navigate according to student interests and provides them with language to describe (and learn further about) these alternatives. I find that this activity is particularly welcomed by my students, many of whom are Environmental Studies majors, as they are inundated with knowledge about how bad current social and environmental crises are, feel a great deal of climate grief and guilt, and are often de-politicized by it. The activity serves to re-politicize the conversation.
