In Melissa Heide’s “Literature and the Environment” course, books are the mechanism through which students study ecological pedagogy. As one of those students, I am learning about the role of the arts — and of the stories we tell — in creating lasting political and social change. Heide asserts that everything is interconnected. An environmental issue, like the rampant PFAS contamination in Maine, not only poses dangers for the surrounding biosphere, but disturbs the healthcare system, disproportionately harms marginalized and impoverished communities, and leads to increases in livestock fatality rates, which in turn affects the mutually dependent organisms in the food web. One environmental mistake can trigger a slew of economic, class, and social issues.
Although the College’s secluded campus shields students from many real-world problems, we are no less integrated into the global environment, and thus we must be willing to engage. But what does engagement look like? As a foundation, Heide’s class begins with books. We read, and reading informs our actions. The books we read not only provide factual data (for example, information about environmental damages, statistics regarding pollution, or contamination-induced disease rates) but also a human aspect. Through stories, we draw empathy. We become connected. It is this connection — this care for our surroundings — that compels us to act.
Environmental stories can also inform environmental pedagogy. In Pedagogy of the Oppressed, a syllabus text, Paulo Freire discusses the importance of problem-posing education, or an approach that prioritizes dynamic problem-solving in the classroom. This philosophy, contrasted with the banking model of education, which is more akin to rote memorization, provides a more egalitarian approach to the student–teacher relationship: one where dialogue between the two fosters a solution, rather than creating a hierarchical relationship between teacher and student where information is provided simply for intake rather than critical thinking.
“Reading books like Pedagogy of the Oppressed made me think about how we present environmental problems,” one student said. “Solving ecological crises relies on informing others, creating more involvement, and to do so we need to have equal education. That requires conversation.”
Expanding on this idea, Heide’s class looks to put the books we read and the lessons we learn from them into action. By the end of the semester, students in this “Literature and the Environment” course will implement Freire’s concept of problem-posing education in Waterville, setting up communal reading groups between students and locals where discussion leads to environmental action.
“I’m excited to be participating in something that is civically engaged,” another student said, “and I’m hoping this will let Colby students get more connected with a town that we can often isolate ourselves from.”
As professors at the College and students look to community involvement, they use books as the foundation of their work, once again demonstrating the role of the arts in stimulating meaningful change.
~ Maya Corrie `29
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