Madeline Kramer

11/20/16
Honors 100 Global Challenges Response
What connections did you see between the interdisciplinary nature of this Global
Challenges discussion and a global challenge you seek to address? What
interdisciplinary approaches might you take in your education and/or your
personal actions to make that issue real and personal for you?
One of the connections that I saw in the Global Challenges discussion was
the link between story and science. I have been observing this discussion for
weeks now in my Honors 210 class which is titled Knowledge of Stories and
Stories of Knowledge with Professor Jeanette Bushnell. Although it might seem
limited to United States politics now, I seek to address some of the issues
surrounding human rights and environmental concerns. It was fascinating to see
a direct connection from Jean Dennison, a citizen of the Osage nation, and David
Battisti, a climate scientist. I have often wondered, especially with the debate
surrounding the North Dakota Access Pipeline, whether it is ethical to shift the
debate to an environmental standpoint for the sake of preventing the
construction of the pipeline. Or would this approach diminish the human rights
violations that the US government has inflicted upon the Native Americans in
the area? In my Honors 210 class, Pamela Bond of the Snohomish nation, came
to us after protesting at the future pipeline site. She didnt speak about most of
the stories that she heard from North Dakota because she did not feel
comfortable sharing other tribal stories without permission. In class, we had also
asked about whether its possible for the environmental sector of the debate to
overshadow the Native Americans.
Related to environmental concern vs. human rights violations, Battisti
spoke about if it is a scientists duty to work as an advocate. Battisti included an
anecdote about a time in Brazil when the scientists presented their data and
caused the Brazilian government to act harmfully against the environment.
However, Dennison argued opposite to Battisti that a person should have
responsibility as both a scientist and an advocate. I would have liked to have
heard more discussion about this. The solutions to climate problems demand a
more interdisciplinary approach, which is why I agree more with Dennisons
approach than that of Battisti. In my education, I would like to explore the
crossover between climate change and its direct effect on human populations.
Some of the personal actions that can make this real for me is to listen to
different sources of media and types of knowledge. I think that I have learned
the most about this in my Honors 210 class. We have learned immensely about
how different pedagogies and knowledge types can be just as valid as Western
systems. In fact, I was listening to a podcast the other day about why the
preservation of the worlds rainforests is critical to new discoveries in medicine.

By pursuing both hard sciences such as Chemistry and Bio while also taking
honors humanities class I can create my own internal blend between science
and politics. That way I can find the perfect balance between the views of
Battisti and Dennison as both a sturdy scientist and devoted advocate.