Finding Our Way Back Forward Introduction

To say that climate change is one of the most important issues of our time is an understatement.  From the tremendous release of greenhouse gasses into the atmosphere, to environmental degradation, to heightened rates of extinction, to plastic and chemical pollution, the world as we know it is undoubtedly changing.  These environmental harms are unequally produced and unjustly distributed across populations, and it is clear that we must fundamentally change social structures in order to reduce and prevent further environmental damage.  Yet how do we do this?

One proposed solution to addressing pressing societal issues like climate change is the increased use of digital technologies.  Digital technologies, taking a variety of forms, as a new medium, are often viewed as inherently good for people and societies, and that their ability to be distributed on large scales makes them democratic and equitable.  Digital technologies further have a facade of immateriality, allowing technology to be seen as a perfect solution to environmental issues driven by over-consumption.  However, these idyllic understandings of digital technologies often lack nuance in technology’s capability to both reinforce injustice and to be used as a tool to create change.

Understanding the complexities of climate change and the role that technology should play in our society are both extensive, emerging areas of research that are receiving and deserve scholarly attention far beyond the scope of this project.  However, as ongoing societal issues, all people must grapple with the enormity of these issues in order to create change.  In this project, I aim to demonstrate that art and embodiment, and particularly dance, can allow us to affectively understand the massive societal changes of climate change and impacts of digital technologies.  Specifically, through the collection and comparison of scholars’ arguments across diverse fields, analysis of artists putting these ideas into action, and my own performance piece inspired by these works; I aim to show that embodied connection with others and with nature is critical in understanding and moving through societal crises, and that technology can present both challenges in goals of justice and opportunities for change when used carefully.