We are philosophers and writers, anthropologists and architects, sociologists and literary critics, historians and scholars of religion, artists and teachers. All these fields, and more, will be necessary because the scale and intensity of the environmental challenges we face require all of us, along with the perspectives and ingenuity of all the disciplines of knowledge we have and some new ones as well.

At a time when familiar specializations and communities of discourse can be both invigorating and limiting, we foster connections and seek to sustain long-term habits of conversation across disciplines. We do so in our research and writing, in our teaching and in our outreach, and with partners at Rice, in the city of Houston, in the Gulf Coast region, and far beyond.