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Confronting anxiety and despair in environmental studies and sciences: an analysis and guide for students and faculty

Author

Listed:
  • Richard L. Wallace

    (Ursinus College
    Northern Rockies Conservation Cooperative)

  • Jess Greenburg

    (Ursinus College
    Northern Rockies Conservation Cooperative)

  • Susan G. Clark

    (Northern Rockies Conservation Cooperative
    Yale University)

Abstract

In the field of environmental studies and sciences (ESS), teachers and students face a daily barrage of dire news and information from all manner of sources and all corners of the earth. Accepting, processing, and using that information in a professional learning context present existential, emotional, intellectual, and physical challenges that are too seldom made explicit in teaching and learning. This lack of explicit recognition of the deeply personal challenges of teaching and learning ESS represents a missed opportunity that disadvantages faculty and students alike by increasing, rather than decreasing, the likelihood of anxiety and despair in ESS. We analyze and provide a perspective on these circumstances, and offer several strategies for improving our ability to integrate personal and collective wellbeing into formal teaching and learning in ESS.

Suggested Citation

  • Richard L. Wallace & Jess Greenburg & Susan G. Clark, 2020. "Confronting anxiety and despair in environmental studies and sciences: an analysis and guide for students and faculty," Journal of Environmental Studies and Sciences, Springer;Association of Environmental Studies and Sciences, vol. 10(2), pages 148-155, June.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:jenvss:v:10:y:2020:i:2:d:10.1007_s13412-020-00609-6
    DOI: 10.1007/s13412-020-00609-6
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Richard L. Wallace & Susan G. Clark, 2018. "Environmental studies and sciences in a time of chaos: problems, contexts, and recommendations," Journal of Environmental Studies and Sciences, Springer;Association of Environmental Studies and Sciences, vol. 8(1), pages 110-113, March.
    2. Beattie, Graham & Laliberté, Jean-William P. & Michaud-Leclerc, Catherine & Oreopoulos, Philip, 2019. "What sets college thrivers and divers apart? A contrast in study habits, attitudes, and mental health," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 178(C), pages 50-53.
    3. Susan Clark & Richard Wallace, 2015. "Integration and interdisciplinarity: concepts, frameworks, and education," Policy Sciences, Springer;Society of Policy Sciences, vol. 48(2), pages 233-255, June.
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    Cited by:

    1. Delia Byrnes & Lindsay Blum & William Walker, 2022. "Undisciplining Environmental Communication Pedagogy: Toward Environmental and Epistemic Justice in the Interdisciplinary Sustainability Classroom," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(1), pages 1-17, December.
    2. Naseem Dillman-Hasso, 2021. "The nature buffer: the missing link in climate change and mental health research," Journal of Environmental Studies and Sciences, Springer;Association of Environmental Studies and Sciences, vol. 11(4), pages 696-701, December.
    3. Panu Pihkala, 2020. "Eco-Anxiety and Environmental Education," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(23), pages 1-38, December.
    4. Christopher Rabe, 2024. "Environmental justice teaching in an undergraduate context: examining the intersection of community-engaged, inclusive, and anti-racist pedagogy," Journal of Environmental Studies and Sciences, Springer;Association of Environmental Studies and Sciences, vol. 14(3), pages 492-510, September.

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