Every year, the Center for Environmental Studies hosts and co-sponsors a range of conferences and symposia at Rice and in the region. Focused on building and maintaining networks of scholars, students, community groups, and artists, these events help us to exchange research, ideas, and work together on building connection across distance and disciplines. See below for our upcoming and previous gatherings.
Fall 2024
The Center for Environmental Studies is proud to be cosponsoring the 2024 Energy, Waste, and the Environment in West Africa (EWEWA) conference. Spearheaded by Nana Osei-Opare (History) and Gökçe Günel (Anthropology), the conference brings together scholars from across the world focused on how West African societies have responded to environmental challenges historically and in the present. Through a series of interdisciplinary thematic panels, this first-of-a-kind conference brings world-renowned and award-winning scholars, artists, filmmakers, and policy-makers to Rice University to generate innovative conversations and solutions on energy, waste, and the environment across West Africa.
Learn more and register
Spring 2023
Our second Gulf Coast brought together nearly 50 scholars and community partners from Houston, New Orleans, Galveston, Corpus Christi, and College Station. Panels explored architectural futures, environmental pasts, eco-pedagogy for graduate students, arts engagement, and a workshop at the Alief Art House demonstrated how the City of Houston is partnering with local arts groups to advance environmental awareness.
Learn more
Fall 2022
Our first Gulf Coast Connections saw over 50 scholars and community members gather from Houston and New Orleans. Converstaions on eco-pedagogy for undergraduates, arts engagement and arts education, architectural solutions to flooding, food justice, and community engagement helped bring together academics and community leaders for robust conversations about a range of environmental thought and efforts happening in the Gulf Coast today.