The Institute for Nature and Culture engages in three types of projects:
- We promote work by DePaul faculty and staff on the boundary of nature and culture. This includes scholarly research and curriculum development.
- We engage in interdisciplinary work with members of our urban community to foster the flourishing of our local natural-cultural environment.
- We serve as an incubator for new, critical modes of inquiry about environmentalism and the human relationship to the non-human world.
Ongoing Projects
Chicago Wilderness Research Agendas
This is a multi-organizational program to identify factors limiting progress toward the objectives of the Chicago Wilderness Coalition and to identify and prioritize relevant research in a variety of disciplines.
- Natural Sciences: Coordinators for this phase of the research agenda project are Prof. Heneghan and Lauren Umek at DePaul and Chris Mulvaney with the Chicago Wilderness Coalition.
- Social Sciences: Concentrating on the people side of the nature/culture story, this study is being coordinated by Lynn Westphal in the North Central Research Station of the U.S. Forest Service in Evanston, Carol Saunders with the Brookfield Zoo and Barbara Willard.
- Humanities: This study investigates the contributions of history, literature, philosophy, religion, and the arts to the health of the Chicagoland’s nature/culture. Coordinating with Chicago Wilderness are Liam Heneghan and William Jordan.
Creation and Re-creation
As the idea and practice of ecological restoration have spread around the world in recent years it has become clear that "restoration," though a universal idea, is understood in very different ways in different cultures. We are currently engaged in a series of conversations to develop a plan for a cross-cultural exploration of the idea of restoration, including related - or component - ideas such as ideas of time, change, representation and authenticity. We welcome contributions to this conversation, and encourage anyone who is interested to contact William Jordan, newacademy@comcast.net, 815.337.6896.
Foundations of Conduct
An exploration of ideas regarding values, value creation and conscience formation and their relevance to behavior with respect to other species and the environment, including ideas developed by literary critic Frederick Turner. Contact William Jordan, newacademy@comcast.net, 815.337.6896.
Faculty/Staff Project Support Grants
DePaul University faculty and staff are encouraged to inquire about the availability project support grants. Generally, 1-3 grants of $1,000 will be awarded in April/May to individuals pursuing projects related to the mission of the Institute for Nature and Culture. Please send a memo of inquiry to Lauren Umek at lumek@depaul.edu