Students who enroll in Let’s Talk About Climate Change! will have the opportunity to engage in robust and far-ranging discussions about climate change—and potential solutions to it—with 14 faculty scholars representing fields from energy policy to environmental justice and geology to global health.

The course will begin with an overview of how Earth’s climate has changed since the Industrial Revolution and what experts predict will happen over the next century. Each week after that, a different Climate Change Faculty Fellow will help lead an hour-long class discussion investigating climate change from a different perspective—from the role language plays in policy making to how social psychologists are working to give us smarter ways to calculate and reduce our carbon footprints. Students and faculty will continue their talk over a catered dinner and in small breakout groups after dinner.

Our goal is to expose students to thought-provoking possibilities about our path forward and help them explore how they can use their talents and voices to bring about positive change and help forge a more sustainable and equitable future for us all.

Course Schedule

Our class meets every Monday throughout the fall semester

5:00 – Class begins in Griffith Theater

6:00 – Class dinner is served at Zweli’s Café in the Divinity School 

6:30 – Small Group Discussions outdoors or in assigned classrooms 

7:30 – Class Adjourns 

Co-Curriculars Outline Fall 2024

Over the course of the semester, we are asking each UNIV 102 student to take part in at least two co-curricular engagement activities. Below is a brief summary of the amazing conversations ahead with Duke faculty, staff and alumni and with community leaders and activists. More will be added as the semester continues.

Date and TimeName of EventDescription
Friday, September 13th; 12:45-4:15 PMWorkday with the Duke Campus FarmA dedicated workday at the Duke Campus Farm for UNIV 102 students. Come get your hands dirty with the DCF team, and learn about sustainable growing practices while contributing to the flourishing of the farm!
Thursday, September 19th; 2:45-5:15pmCollaging Climate MetaphorsMeet at the Scrap Exchange and join Dr. Valnes Quammen for an informal creative work session and chat around the idea of climate metaphors. Come with an idea of a climate metaphor you encounter in your daily life (personal or academic) and spend some time collaging about it. The goal is to think creatively about the concept of climate metaphors, and also think about how these metaphors work visually in addition to verbally.
Monday, September 23rd; 12-1:30 PMPhilosophy in the Gardens: Brown Bag Lunch Discussion of French Philosopher Simone Weil on Reading the Mysteries of PhenomenaThrough an international partnership on Humanities and Climate Change, in the Memorandum of Understanding between Duke University and the University of Exeter in the UK, we bring an award-winning UK humanities professor–  Professor Hugh Roberts– for a casual discussion in Duke Gardens of quotes by 20th Century French Philosopher Simone Weil on “reading the universe.” Weil meditates on how to engage with the mysteries of phenomena though reading texts. We are accustomed, she says, to reacting to phenomena like the heat of fire through our sensory cognition: “This is how the universe treats me and it is through this treatment that I recognise it”–and yet that treatment and recognition are also meaning in action. Literature also brings us into contact with the mysteries of the phenomenal universe, she writes, because “Action carried out either on oneself or on others consists in transforming meanings.” Prof. Roberts will help students gain philosophical flexbility in their response to how the universe “treats” them, and how, through this treatment, we recognize it.
Wednesday, September 25th; 3-4 PMCoffee Break DiscussionLet’s talk about the different strategies that sustainable and impact investors are using to contribute to climate solutions and how we can assess whether or not they’re effective.
Tuesday, October 1st; 2-3PMCoffee Chat with Dr. FullenkampJoin Dr. Fullenkamp to discuss the economics of climate change and dive into his conversation from earlier that week.
Friday, October 4th; 12:45-4:15 PMWorkday with the Duke Campus FarmA dedicated workday at the Duke Campus Farm for UNIV 102 students. Come get your hands dirty with the DCF team, and learn about sustainable growing practices while contributing to the flourishing of the farm!
Wednesday, October 16th; 12-1 PMGroup Lunch with ToddiLearn more about the Duke Climate Commitment and the Office of Climate and Sustainability Opportunity by having lunch with Vice President and Vice Provost for Climate and Sustainability Toddi Steelman. Lunch will be provided.
Thursday, October 17th; 5-7 PM“Let’s Talk” Tour: Climate Change thru Contemporary Photography @ the Nasher Museum of ArtJoin us for a guided exploration of how human activity has had a marked impact on the global climate through the lens of contemporary photography in Second Nature: Photography in the Age of the Anthropocene (on view August 29, 2024 – January 05, 2025) at the Nasher Museum of Art at Duke.
Friday, October 18th, 11:30-1 PMClimate memes: A medium for encouraging resistance?A climate meme making workshop with Pulitzer Center photographer Justin Cook. Lunch will be provided.
Wednesday, October 23rd; 12-2PMBrown Bag Lunch Discussion on Indigenous Sovereignty and Green Energy InitiativesBrown bag lunch with students to discuss Indigenous sovereignty and green energy initiatives (challenges, successes, importance of Indigenous community consent, some guidance on approaching/working with Indigenous communities). We will look at these concerns on a global scale through a few case studies but specific discussions of policy/guidance will be US-based.
Friday, October 25th, 12-1:30 PM Should geoengineering be part of the climate change toolkit? Thinking about its potential risks, benefits, and implications.As the world starts to surpass 1.5C degrees of warming, on a trajectory to surpass 2C, additional tools to address climate change risk other than traditional mitigation and adaptation are being sought. Solar radiation modification (SRM) represents a family of potential tools that could slow, halt, or even reverse the warming of climate change, in relatively short order compared to mitigation and CDR. At the same time, SRM comes with multiple climatic, biophysical, and socio-political risks that must be understood. How could such a technology be governed — democratically and justly — in a way that minimizes its risks and helps to address climate change? How should decisions on this approach be made, and when might that choice be made? These and multiple other interesting considerations about SRM and “climate intervention” technologies will be discussed and debated, after an introductory talk.
Tuesday, October 29th; 11 AM-12 PM Coffee Break Discussion Coffee Break Discussion on The Role of Spirituality in Addressing the Climate Crisis
Thursday, November 7th, 11AM-2PM Hike-and-Talk on the Eno RiverJoin Dr. Brown for a relaxing walk through the woods, passing by the old Durham Pump Station ruins or Few’s Ford – both of these have interesting histories that are worth discussing. Lunch will be provided.
Thursday, November 7th, 5PM-7PM“Let’s Talk” Tour: Climate Change thru Contemporary Photography @ the Nasher Museum of ArtJoin us for a guided exploration of how human activity has had a marked impact on the global climate through the lens of contemporary photography in Second Nature: Photography in the Age of the Anthropocene (on view August 29, 2024 – January 05, 2025) at the Nasher Museum of Art at Duke.
Monday, November 11th; 12-1:30 PMClimate Change and Health: What Does it Mean to Care?Informal discussion regarding the intersection of Climate Change and Health-complex, wide-ranging, integrally connected impacts.
Wednesday, November 13th; 10:15-12:15Hike-and-Talk at Duke Forest’s Shepherd Nature TrailDuke Forest Shepherd Nature Trail Tour. Located along Hwy 751 in the Duke Forest’s Durham Division, the Shepherd Nature Trail offers a short hike and provides a wonderful introduction to the Duke Forest. Throughout the 0.8-mile loop, you encounter interpretive signage that considers the natural patterns and human activities that have shaped the Forest’s past and present. Each sign offers an opportunity to discover the changing Forest and consider your role in its transformation. 
Friday, November 15th; 9:45 AM-12:45 PMExhibiting Climate ChangeWe’ll talk about and explore strategies for communicating salient climate change themes via static museum exhibitions.