Philosopher Leslie A. Aarons and artist Julia Barbosa Landois discuss the importance of empathy in environmentalism and activism through the reading of The Sense of Wonder: A Celebration of Nature for Parents and Children written by marine biologist and conservationist Rachel Carson. The little-known text that was published posthumously, contains journal entries from Carson’s nature walks with her nephew and photographs of the natural landscape, and provides a springboard for Aarons and Landois to talk about their current public philosophy and creative projects.

May 4, 2021, 5:00 CST

https://zoom.us/j/94452824084?pwd=WGpTSkVNV3laNXY2NUd2UzRvWHpsZz09

Meeting ID: 944 5282 4084
Passcode: 731525

PRESENTERS

Leslie A. Aarons is a Professor of Philosophy at City University of New York (CUNY) LaGuardia Community College. Specializing in Environmental Ethics and Public Philosophy, her work seeks to engage public audiences in recognizing how discriminatory human-centered attitudes perpetuate on-going environmental crises. By rethinking how we “think” about the natural environment, new pathways can evolve for more inclusive, empathetic relationships with non-human nature.

Julia Barbosa Landois is a performance, installation, and video artist based in Houston, TX. Her work has been exhibited in galleries, museums, and performance festivals in the United States, Latin America, and Europe and is featured this year at the Holocaust Museum Houston and the Blaffer Art Museum. She holds a BFA from the University of Texas at San Antonio and MFA from the University of Pennsylvania. In addition to her studio practice, Barbosa Landois has worked as a professor, preparator, exhibitions coordinator, grant writer, and community educator. 

MODERATOR

Jeanette Joy Harris is an artist-researcher interested in performance and politics. She is pursuing a Ph.D. in Philosophy, Art, and Critical Thought at European Graduate School. She completed an MscR in art history from University of Edinburgh and a BA in government from Texas Woman’s University. She was a scholar in residence at the Hannah Arendt Institute at Bard College. She is a member of American Philosophical Association’s Committee on Public Philosophy and serves on Experimental Action’s management committee. Joy has shown creative work in Chicago, Dallas, Helsinki, Houston, London, Los Angeles, Miami, the Netherlands, New Orleans, New York City, Pittsburgh, Portland, San Francisco, and Venice. Joy has presented papers in the US and UK, including University of Cambridge, Centre for Applied Philosophy, Politics and Ethics; New Mexico Texas Philosophical Society; and American Political Science Association. She guest lectures at Texas Woman’s University, University of Houston, and University of North Texas.

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This project is part of “Possessing a common logic,” a series of discussions and collaborations between philosophers, theorists, artists, and performers. Curator Jeanette Joy Harris brings together creative thinkers from different disciplines and invites them to uncover a common logic or underlying thread that connects their practices.

Working toward resonances not necessarily similarities and shared ways of thinking not necessarily shared thoughts, the end result is unpredictable. This series aims to imagine new possibilities and projects through difference. It moves away from a purely critical mode of engagement, focusing, instead, on creation and construction. 

This work is funded in part by the City of Houston through Houston Arts Alliance.

#LetCreativityHappen19 #philosophyoflife #publicphilosophy #artandphilosophy #solidarity

@Houston MOCA @houstonartsalliance @jblandois