How can we create positive change? What does it mean to have an ecological mind? How can interdisciplinary collaborations help us move beyond educational silos and create sustainable futures?

Paola Spinozzi is Professor of English Literature at the University of Ferrara and currently serves as Pro-Vice-Chancellor for Internationalisation. She is the coordinator of the PhD Programme in Environmental Sustainability and Wellbeing and the co-coordinator of Routes towards Sustainability. Her research encompasses the ecological humanities and ecocriticism, utopia and sustainability; literature and the visual arts; literature and science; cultural memory. She has co-edited Cultures of Sustainability and Wellbeing: Theories, Histories and Policies and published on post/apocalyptic and climate fiction, nature poetry, eco-theatre; art and aesthetics, imperialism and evolutionism in utopia as a genre; the writing of science; interart creativity.

THE CREATIVE PROCESS · ONE PLANET PODCAST

You were a lead organizer of the conference of the European Consortium for Humanities Institutes and Centres European (ECHIC) with Silvana Colella. Tell us a little bit about the purpose of the conference and the importance of the humanities.

PAOLA SPINOZZI

So, to be able to develop an ecological mind, one must be ecological minded and really understand what it means to be interdependent and interconnected. So that brings together every kind of species we can think of, and we need to filter this way of thinking because when we are in a natural environment, we feel energized and uplifted. But how long does it last? And what do we do with it? To me, ecological mindedness, the topic of ECHIC (European Consortium for Humanities Institutes and Centres) is exactly this: being committed, developing a commitment towards the environment and towards well-being. It's only when we are really interdependent that we can thrive. And this was the core of this conference from various perspectives in an attempt to foster an interdisciplinary dialogue.

The Importance of Interdisciplinary Collaboration

The humanities are all about representing the world, while the sciences are all about knowing the world. But I believe the roles are deeply intertwined, and that literature, the humanities, philosophy, history, and the arts are all ways of knowing the world. They do exactly the same thing in our understanding of the world. And it is really important to try to put these things together to bring people closer in talking to each other. 

The Humanities and Sustainability

I started as a scholar of English literature in particular. And then I realized I didn't like boundaries. I've always tried to explore other domains and areas of knowledge. So I moved on to the relationship between literature and science because what has always fascinated me is how science is written, circulated, and understood and how science is popularized and narrativized.

The Role of Utopian Studies in Sustainability led me straight to sustainability and to envision possible future societies. For example, the sciences and the humanities coexist and thrive on and sustain each other. And if you think about the best or the worst possible futures, then after a while, you come to think about whether futures may be sustainable or not. More importantly, we should try to envision ways of living in the future that may be acceptable and, above all, enjoyable for everyone.

I want to quote a poem because it's not only a poem. It's a poem rethought by and revisited by a conceptual artist. It's called "All Watched Over By Machines Of Loving Grace". So this originally is a 1967 poem by an American author Richard Brautigan, but then in 2021, it became a video by Turkish artist Memo Akten. This video brings together an amazing array of images in which you see different natural environments and artificial intelligence. Gradually, they come to blend, and then they melt, and then they become one.

I like to think
(it has to be!)
of a cybernetic ecology
where we are free of our labors
and joined back to nature,
returned to our mammal
brothers and sisters,
and all watched over
by machines of loving grace.

–Richard Brautigan

This interview was conducted by Mia Funk with the participation of collaborating universities and students. Associate Interviews Producers on this episode were Virginia Moscetti and Sam Myers. One Planet Podcast & The Creative Process is produced by Mia Funk. Additional production support by Katie Foster.

Mia Funk is an artist, interviewer and founder of The Creative Process & One Planet Podcast (Conversations about Climate Change & Environmental Solutions).
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