- Does the rainforest have rights?
- How has it been utilized by humans over time?
- What about the rights of the indigenous occupants?
- What policies exist regarding the Amazon?
Anyone listening or reading the news in 2019 will have seen tragic stories of unprecedented swaths of forest in the southern Brazilian Amazon region on fire.
This phenomenon, however, is not new; there have been international responses over the decades to Amazonian deforestation, including global banks that have offered debt relief in return for preserving the rainforest. Furthermore, while most of the area is in Brazil, there are nine Latin American countries that contain pieces of the Amazon Basin. The issue of who decides management and use of the Amazon also resonates in other areas, such as the Galapagos Islands in Ecuador, wildlife preserves in Africa, etc. For this lab, there are some context-specific questions, that lend themselves to research on this shared region. How is Amazon portrayed globally? Do different countries that surround the region have different public policies and discourse about the Amazon? These questions and the complicated human relationship with this rich and diverse ecosystem lend themselves to multiple analytical lenses, including film, literature, anthropology, history, politics, sustainability, and international development.Collaborations
Torie Bosch — Editor of Slate Magazine’s Future Tense series
Matthew Toro — Director of Maps, Imagery, and Geospatial services, ASU Library.
Seonaid Valient — Curator for Latin American Studies, ASU Library
Rachel Martinez — STEM librarian, ASU library
Impact Outcomes
These questions and the complicated human relationship with this rich and diverse ecosystem lend themselves to multiple analytical lenses, including film, literature, anthropology, history, politics, sustainability, and international development.
Amazon Fires in the News
At the Humanities Lab, we strive to ensure our Labs are relevant and current. Here are some recent articles about the fires in the Amazon in today’s news!
Enrollment Information
Fall 2020
Course time/location: Tuesdays and Thursdays 3:00-4:15pm in ED220
Lab time/location: Tuesdays 1:30-2:45pm in ED328*
- Humanities Lab HUL 494 and 598
- School for the Future of Innovation in Society FIS 494
- School of International Letters and Cultures SLC/POR/SPA 494 and SLC 598
- Global Technology and Development GTD 598
Instructional Team
Faculty: Glen Goodman
International Development School of International Letters and Cultures Why is the Amazon Burning?
Fall 2020
Faculty: Mary Jane Parmentier
Sustainability School for the Future of Innovation in Society Why is the Amazon Burning?
Fall 2020
Librarian: Matt Toro
Director of Maps, Imagery, and Geospatial Services Map and Geospatial Hub Why is the Amazon Burning?
Fall 2020
Librarian: Renee James
Distinctive Collections Curator, Distinctive Collections/Greater Arizona Why is the Amazon Burning?
Fall 2020
Librarian: Seonaid Valiant
Distinctive Collections Assistant Archivist Why is the Amazon Burning?
Fall 2020
