Emerging Perspectives: Student Chapters
Starting in 2018, Ohio State students in ENR 3470, Religion and Environmental Values in America, were given the option to focus their term papers on writing a sub-chapter for this book. The first printing of the book (Religion and Environmental Values in America (REVA)) in autumn of 2019 included Natalie Pax’s sub-chapter and Sophie Manaster’s co-authored main chapter (chapter 6). Eight more student chapters were under review by December of 2019, under the editorship of Dr. Hitzhusen, and more chapters have followed each semester since. On Earth Day in April of 2022, on the last day of class in ENR 3470 that semester, a new book consisting entirely of student-authored essays was published, including all of the chapters that had previously been published here as sub-chapters of the REVA textbook. That book, Emerging Perspectives in Religion and Environmental Values in America (EPREVA) had already attracted several thousand readers as of August of 2022, and its construction owes mostly to the work of three student editors: Georgia McLachlan, Hallie Stelzle, and Emerson Gifford. If other readers or students would be interested to submit a chapter for possible inclusion in the new book, please contact Dr. Hitzhusen. It would be wonderful for EPREVA to increasingly resemble the larger dialogue that will be needed with everyone if we are to collectively meet the challenges of sustainability and flourishing that face all life on Earth, so contributions from far and wide are most welcome.
The topic of religion and the environment is almost infinitely diverse, and no one book could ever cover all of the worthy and interesting topics connected to this subject. We imagine that a volume II of EPREVA will follow in future years, but even that will only scratch the tip of the iceberg. Even so, these student essays highlight the much wider dialogue and range of ideas that make up the landscape of religion and environmental values in America and beyond. You are welcome to join the dialogue!
Note: Student editors will be working to develop more formal links between REVA and EPREVA, and to add an introduction to all 28 (and counting!) of the chapters in EPREVA to this student chapter appendix section in REVA. Stay tuned for more developments, but in the meantime you can access all of the student chapters in EPREVA here.
