University of Calgary
EVDS lecture
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Is green the new black?
Adrian Parr is the author of a new book called Hijacking Sustainability.In recent years, sustainability has gone mainstream. No longer is the quest for a green lifestyle a grassroots movement among progressively minded collectives; sustainability is now the buzzword for Prius-driving Hollywood stars and multinational corporations. Eco-hip is the new hip.According to Adrian Parr, the October guest lecturer for the EVDS Design Matters Lecture Series, the sustainability movement has become the basis for a new market in green commodities and design, a situation that risks co-opting the politics of the movement. Parr, visiting professor at the University of Cincinnati, will tackle the politics of sustainability at the EVDS lecture and reception on Thursday, Oct. 15, 7 p.m. at The Uptown Theatre. “Sustainability has captured our imagination at a time when we are discouraged and demoralized by a failed war and general governmental incompetence,” says Parr, author of the recent and provocative book Hijacking Sustainability. “[Sustainability] offers an alternative narrative of the collective good—an idea now compromised and endangered by corporate, military and government interests. “The question to answer is: how can we resuscitate the politics of the sustainability movement?” Parr believes a university can help further the green movement. “I think green politics is also largely a pedagogical problem, and it has to do with educating people about the implications of their actions both at an individual level and at the level of the community,” she says. “The university environment promotes the development of an 'informed citizen' and this really is where sustainability politics originates.” EVDS professor David Monteyne says Parr’s topic is very relevant not only to students but also to the Calgary community. “She is coming out with some clear thinking and critical questioning about the ubiquitous and powerful discourse of sustainability and its realities and implications,” he says. The Uptown is located at 610 8th Avenue S.W. Tickets will be sold at the door for $5; students attend for free. The EVDS Design Matters Lecture Series is sponsored by: Elemente Magazine, Stantec Architecture, HOK, Marshall Tittemore Architects, Nexen, Calgary Airport Authority, the City of Calgary, RGO Flooring, RGO Office Products, Section 23 Group, Shaw Contract Group, Simpson Roberts Architecture, Steelcase, and Steel Structures Education Foundation. For more details visit www.ucalgary.ca/evds/design_matters/oct.
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October 13, 2009