About Profiles
HideKaren Litfin
University of Washington-Seattle Campus
Karen Litfin is Associate Professor of Political Science at the UW-Seattle. Her books include Ozone Discourses: Science and Politics in Global Environmental Cooperation; The Greening of Sovereignty; and most recently, Ecovillages: Lessons for Sustainable Community. In her research, teaching, and personal life, she integrates the objective, subjective and intersubjective dimensions of sustainability.
Website Content Contributions
Activities (3)
Afghan Poppies, Climate Change and War: Thinking Systemically About Us and Them part of Curriculum for the Bioregion:Activities
This contemplative practice inquires into the complex web of interdependencies linking global climate change, the War on Terror, Afghan poppy production, opiate addiction, and food security through the lens of systems theory. The exercise challenges students to consider these linkages not only conceptually but also somatically and emotionally.
Afghan Poppies, Climate Change and US Heroin: Thinking Systemically About Us and Them part of Curriculum for the Bioregion:Activities
This very simple contemplative exercise is rooted in my "Person/Planet Politics" approach, which invites students to into an experiential relationship with a global socioecological phenomenon: in this instance, Afghan poppy production. It can be adapted to a range of courses and a range of topics within those courses. The basic question is: "Who am I in relation to this?"
Who am I in a Changing Climate? part of Curriculum for the Bioregion:Activities
Concluding a study of climate change in a course on Global Environmental Politics, stuents engage in a reflection exercise intended to develop their capacities for self-inquiry, self-awareness and integrative learning.