2023 CLAS Reads Author Keynote

Tuesday, Nov. 7 join Lesley University for a discussion about "A Field Guide to Climate Anxiety: How to Keep Your Cool on a Warming Planet" by Sarah Jaquette Ray, this year's CLAS Reads book. CLAS Reads is the common reads program within the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences (CLAS). Every fall, all first-year students who are enrolled in English composition courses read a different book that was selected by faculty and students. This books draws from various academic areas (e.g., mindfulness studies, environmental studies, sociology and psychology) to validate the anxiety, guilt and fear associated with the uncertainty of climate change. Sarah shares a variety of strategies to help cope with the despair and to mobilize people to more effectively advocate for climate justice.

Dr. Sarah Jaquette Ray is a professor and chair of environmental studies at California Polytechnic, Humboldt. She has a BA in Religious Studies, an MA in American Studies as well as a PhD in Environmental Sciences, Studies and Policy. Ray is also a certified mindfulness facilitator through the UCLA Mindfulness Awareness Research Center and has published in the LA Times, Scientific American, The Cairo Review of Global Affairs, Edge Effects, KCET and Zocalo Public Square.