As part of its Fall 2001 program, New Social Geographies and the Politics of Space, the 61传媒 Humanities Institute is pleased to present its second symposium, "Race, Class and the Transformation of Environmentalism" at 4:15 pm on Thursday, October 25th in the Hampton Room of the Elizabeth Hubert Malott Commons. Featured speakers are Michel Gelobter, executive director of the non-profit public policy and research organization Redefining Progress; Rachel Morello-Frosch, assistant professor in the Department of Health Education at San Francisco State University; and Manuel Pastor, professor of Latin American and Latino Studies and director of the Center for Justice, Tolerance and Community at the University of California, Santa Cruz. This event is free and open to the public.
Founded in 1986, the 61传媒 Humanities Institute promotes interdisciplinary research and discussion in forums both inside and outside the 61传媒 curriculum. This symposium will be devoted to the examination of grassroots ecological movements, the politics of environmental degradation and social justice, and the contemporary rethinking of "nature" and the "environment" to take into account the differential impact of pollution and toxic waste on urban minority and third world communities.
Dr. Pastor works on issues of environmental justice with support from the California Endowment and the California Policy Research Center. His most recent books include Modern Political Economy and Latin America: Theory and Policy and Regions That Work: How Cities and Suburbs Can Grow Together. Dr. Morello-Frosch is currently working in partnership with Communities for a Better Environment in Los Angeles on "Air Pollution, Toxics and Environmental Justice" and with the U.S. E.P.A. on children’s health and air toxins. Dr. Gelobter, a former assistant professor of environmental policy at Rutgers University, is a member of the Clean Air Act Federal Advisory committee and the Board of the Northeast Environmental and Economic Justice Network.