January 15, 2021

Community Reads 2021: Environmental Justice

UW Bothell and Cascadia College Campus Library’s Community Reads program strives to build community through shared intellectual experiences and discussions around social justice, equity, and diversity.  With something new to read, watch, and listen to each quarter– participants get a variety of perspectives and mediums to engage with. Although this year’s digital interactions may look a little different from past years’ in-person events, the Community Reads 2020-21 committee has curated an interactive Canvas course that provides a variety of different resources for participants. It’s all hosted asynchronously and commenting/contributing to discussions is optional.  

Each quarter we base discussions around a central theme. This year’s theme is environmental justice and during Winter quarter, we are exploring climate migration and climate refugees through three thought-provoking reflections on the topic:

• Animated video poetry:  The Environmental Refugee Holding Centre by Sabrina Mahfouz
• Short Story: He Are the People by Elif Shafak
• Podcast: Climate Refugees from What Makes Us Human by Cornell College of Arts and Sciences
• Plus a wide range of related resources including webinars, books, and more  

Community Reads is open to all UW students, faculty, and staff. In addition to discussions on curated materials, participants can also contribute to our Community Reads Climate Zine. The Community Reads Zine is an opportunity for participants to share their voice on this quarter’s topic by submitting a piece of creative work inspired by the course’s materials and activities. The zine is then uploaded to the Canvas webpage and made available to all to read; you can find the previous quarter’s zines here.  

Faculty and staff can also integrate materials, thematic modules, and activities into their classes and programs. Ideas for classroom and departmental use include:

• Invite students to participate in the entire course or specific modules for extra credit. 
• Import specific modules of the course into your own courses. 
• Assign the Zine activity as an assignment in your course or suggest staff submittals.
• Invite the staff or student employees you supervise to engage with the resources of the course and participate in activities and discussion spaces.

We are excited to share these resources with you, and hope that you will join us this quarter for Community Reads!  Enrolling in the Canvas course is easy and required for participation. Follow the link below to learn more! https://guides.lib.uw.edu/bothell/communityreads/w21