Northrop, the Institute for Advanced Study, and the University Honors Program today announce a new collaborative Spotlight Series to present lectures, panel discussions, exhibits, and other events throughout the academic year around a topic of timely interest. The 2019-20 series focuses on Environmental Justice and features six different events offering perspectives from a variety of voices in the field, including academics and practitioners from multiple disciplines. Campus leaders, artists, policymakers, and funders will explore several critical aspects surrounding the intersection of the environment and equity. These events are free and open to the public and run 3:30-5:00 pm Thursdays in Northrop’s Best Buy Theater.

How can the legal concepts of copyright and common property be brought to bear on environmental justice issues? Aviva Rahmani created Blued Trees Symphonyas copyrighted art with nature installations in the path of fossil-fuel pipelines. Kathryn Milun founded and directs the Solar Commons Research Project, which investigates common property governance models to pilot trust ownership of solar energy for low-income communities. Their moderated conversation will explore these models as well as new ideas about innovative legal structures in service of environmental justice.