Dr. Shaw Lacy’s abstract on «What defines a river? Modelling the interplay between physical and social driving factors in characterising the waterways in Chile» was accepted for oral presentation at the Routes towards Sustainability 2018 Symposium, whose theme is «Cultures and local practices of sustainability: Intersecting multiple footprints and the environmental humanities» in Session 1: The Environmental Humanities, which is described as:

Life as we know it can be sustained only if we understand and significantly mitigate the forms of pressure relentlessly exerted on our planet. Although innumerable scientific measurements and alarming reports have been produced, the impact of humans on Earth remains massive. Scientific reports per se fail if they remain disconnected from rhetorical, political, social, cultural, and affective forms through which climate change is experienced and figured by diverse communities.

At the Puerto de Ideas Festival in 2014 Bruno Latour proposed that scientists, artists, and social agents bring together a “composition”, the only feasible mode of conveying messages that can permeate our imaginaries, help us take responsibility for the global crisis, introduce cultural changes, and stimulate creative relationships with the environment. Such composition can be achieved by means of interdisciplinary collaborations. Latour’s metaphor of composition is on e that suggests how the environmental humanities can go forward.

This panel, dedicated to innovative dialogues among the humanities, the arts, and ecological sciences, will serve as a platform for creative and critical thinking that can inspire cultural changes.

The Symposium will be held between the Casa Central and Villarrica Campus of the Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile from 10 to 14 December, 2018.