“Ritual, Ethics, and Geoengineering”
Prof. Sarah Fredericks
Tuesday, 12:00 – 1:20 PM
Swift 208

You are cordially invited to a special meeting of the Theology and Religious Workshop with Sarah E. Fredericks, Assistant Professor of Environmental Ethics. Prof. Fredericks joined the Divinity School faculty this year. She will be giving a lecture on a chapter that is to be published in the forthcoming volume, Calming the Storm: Theological and Ethical Perspectives on Climate Engineering (Edited by Kevin J. O’Brien and Forrest Clingerman; Rowman & Littlefield). Geoengineering is the intentional, global-scale manipulation of the climate to combat climate change. In “Ritual Responses to Geoengineering,” Fredericks discusses the existential and moral threats revealed by the fact that some people are considering climate change and the need for religious action before, during, and after its implementation. Her chapter specifically focuses on solar radiation management, the most favored type of geoengineering and also, she argues, the most ethically controversial.

Professor Fredericks joins us from the University of North Texas, where she was Associate Professor in the Department of Philosophy and Religion. She is the author of Measuring and Evaluating Sustainability: Ethics in Sustainability Indexes (Routledge, 2013). Her research focuses on sustainability, sustainable energy, environmental guilt and shame, and environmental justice. Professor Fredericks holds a PhD in Science, Philosophy and Religion from Boston University.

Participants may read Prof. Fredericks’ chapter in advance. It can be accessed using your CNetID credentials here:
https://uchicago.box.com/s/jk81e9sadvdm49704bmm8ht8x729zks2