Emeritus Society Spring Kick-off 2025
Facing Climate Change (And All the Other Crises): From Despair to Hopeful ActionCost:
FREE per personDuration:
1h 30minAbout this experience
Tuesday, February 11, 10:30 am – 12:00 pm
No charge, but for planning purposes registration is requested.
The crises we face today are too many and too big to fathom. Racism, war, poverty, sexual violence, forced migration, political dysfunction, and public health emergencies all demand our attention. And then there’s climate change. It’s easy to feel confused, overwhelmed, anxious, depressed, hopeless, and powerless. This lecture will offer a framework for making sense of our predicament and finding new paths toward hopeful action.
Speakers will suggest that the climate crisis is not primarily a technological problem, nor is it distinct from the other social and political calamities we face. Rather, it is the product of a social and economic order that is more than five hundred years old. Real solutions will require a transformation from an economy based on extraction and exploitation to one based on care and reverence for people and the earth alike. They will offer strategies for getting started. Practices that help us reconnect mind, body, spirit, and earth are foundational. We can look to the global climate justice movement for practical inspiration. And we can each find ways to connect with others that honor our individuality and that nurture hope, creativity, and joy.
Refund Policy
To receive a refund, a written request must be received 3 business days before the first class. A $25 processing fee will be deducted from the refund. Cancellation requests received less than 3 business days before the first class but before the second meeting will receive a 50% refund. ALL written requests should be emailed to emeritus@spartanstrategiesinc.org or mailed to the address above.
Your Host
Tom Guthrie grew up in Georgia and has lived in Greensboro for almost twenty years. He teaches cultural anthropology, environmental studies, and sustainable food systems at Guilford College, where he is a professor. His courses address cultural diversity, the legacies of European colonialism, the efforts of Indigenous peoples to assert their rights and identities, natural resource use and conservation, agricultural systems, and land justice, among other topics. Tom helps students better understand interlocking systems of oppression and empowers them to build a more just and sustainable world.
Bevelyn Afor Ukah is a self-taught artist, land steward and curator, developing spaces that encourage equity and values-driven practice. Bevelyn is the Director of the Committee on Racial Equity (CORE) at the Center for Environmental Farming Systems (CEFS). She serves on the board of the School for Living Futures, is the founder of The Manifest Farm, and is the founding consultant of AFI Oak Consulting. Bevelyn received her Bachelors in International Studies, Sociology and Anthropology from Guilford College and completed her Masters in Intercultural Service, Leadership and Management.