Of or pertaining to the root of something; when we say something is “radical,” we mean that we’re deeply analyzing the who, what, where, when, and why. What did the author mean? How does this connect to movements for change? When we view it through the lens of social justice, what lessons does it tell?

The US abolition movement began with enslaved Black people organizing to end chattel slavery. In the US, we know that slavery never actually ended—it only changed form. Following the end of chattel slavery in the US, abolitionist movements began to organize against Jim Crow, wage slavery, and eventually the US prison system. Today, when we say “abolition” we are usually referring to modern movements to end all forms of policing and incarceration from police departments, to Immigration & Customs Enforcement (ICE), immigration detention, family policing (DCFS, or Child Protective Services), jails, and prisons.

This genre of writing takes a critical look at our society’s ills and tells stories about how future worlds might be different, for better or worse. Speculative fiction is often but not always set in the future.

A field of thought that asks questions about our world—both how it is currently, and how it should be. It is a pursuit for truth and understanding about existence, morality, knowedlge, values, reason, mind, and language. Many people consider philosophy “dense” and difficult to understand—but philosophical debate can and should be made accessible to all bodyminds.

A characterization of how something looks, especially when speaking about the arts, e.g. The Good Place is aesthetically pleasing, what with the bright lighting, crisp architecture, and occasional eccentric animations.

A shared understanding of the sociopolitical and economic realities that shape our societies and world, built on a shared understanding of justice and injustice.

Environmental Justice should not be confused with environmentalism, which has racist and classist roots with mostly white and wealthy activists in pursuit of “conserving” the natural world. Instead, Environmental Justice means that everyone has the right to live in a healthy, sustainable environment and have their needs met. We can think of EJ as interconnected with housing, disability, gender, economic, and health justice. EJ explicitly focuses on the legacies of environmental racism and the impact that both past and present policies have impacted Black, Brown. Indigenous, and POC communities, poor and working class communities, and queer and disabled people within all of these communities. The goal of environmental justice movements is to make sure everyone can not only survive but thrive with dignity.

How we relate to the world around us, not only in pursuit of knowledge about other beings and non-living parts of ecosystems, but also in how our identities have been shaped by memories, experiences, observations of the natural world. Building a thoughtful ecological identity can influence how we come to be in what many call “right relationship” with the Earth. Building ecological identity involves clarification of our values and an understanding of how to live in reciprocity.

A short but descriptive text that conveys the author’s relationship to the subject, place, or experiences with people.

Engages people in their community, including the physical environment, local histories, and the perspectives of other people who live in their community. One of the primary goals of place-based inquiry (sometimes also known as experiential learning) is for people to delve into the root causes of community problems and build strategies to solve those problems through their knowledge and the strengths already present in that community.

A system of oppression that disproportionately places Black, Indigenous, and other people of color (BIPOC) in the path of experiencing harm from harmful environmental practices and policies. For example, in the US, factories with harmful emissions are disproportionately built in poor and low-income BIPOC communities, causing an increase in cancers, disabilities, and serious health conditions within those communities.

Harmful substances in our environment—in the air, water supply, surfaces, or elsewhere—that can cause health concerns, disabilities, and even death.

Strategies designed to reduce the impact or scope or harmful systems on the people who encounter them. For example: using air purifiers and requiring masks are mitigation strategies that reduce the spread of viral pathogens, which negatively impact everyone but in particular poor, low-income, Black and brown disabled & immunocompromised people

Can be both quantitative (measurable, involving numbers and units), or qualitative (descriptive, language, feeling). In our courses young people will decide what types of data support their ability to answer their inquiry questions. Data may be gathered from interviews, descriptive observations, texts, visual media, or through measurement and use of scientific tools.

A framework for dismantling the idea that science only belongs in institutions and should only be done by “qualified” individuals who have a degree. Often called “Citizen Science” (though we believe that the term ‘citizen’ is exclusive of undocumented communities) community science can sometimes contribute to ongoing studies led by institutions. However, we refer to community science as the processes and practices of people who engage in gathering data to support community problem solving, being completely led by the community itself.

A set of agreements created by groups of people, governments, organizations, businesses, etc that guide what to do about specific situations that arise. In this course we will look at policies already created by legislators because of the work of activists, as well as policy proposals that environmental activists are still working to have passed.

Rooted in Indigenous land principles, the practice is reciprocity is about being in relationships where we give what we are able to give and receive what we need to receive. The practice of reciprocity is inherently opposed to capitalist, white supremacist practices of greed, exploitation, extraction, and violence.

The opposite of colonial; decolonial refers to any practices that aim to mitigate the harms of colonization on impacted people. While colonial practices are extractive, decolonial practices are about reciprocity, autonomy, and treating every living being equitably. While colonial practices focus on amassing wealth, decolonial practices focus on ensuring every living being has what they need to survive and thrive. While colonial practices are supremacist in every which way, decolonial practices acknowledge that all living beings are equal and deserve kindness, respect, and autonomy.

The understanding that all living beings are intrinsically connected to one another, and therefore our behaviors impact not just ourselves but every other being on the planet. When we adopt this understanding of the world, we are more likely to behave in ways that have a positive impact on other beings.

The use and abuse of peoples’ labor, time, and resources by people in power for profit or other gain. Exploitation is perpetuated by white supremacist and colonial thinking.

The supremacist practice by which a group of “settlers” (people who are not from the place where they are arriving to) leverage outsized power and control over another group of people, usually but not always by leveraging military violence and/or international law and policy, to steal land, homes, and resources from the Indigenous population. The settler population establishes its own sociopolitical, cultural, and economic institutions that replace those of the Indigenous populations, and enforce compliance with these institutions, usually by violent means. The settler population turns the Indigenous population into second class citizens, politically, economically, and socially disenfranchises them, and maintains power and control by any means necessary. Settler colonialism is often, but not always, practiced by predominantly white groups against predominantly BIPOC groups.

The study of how Earth’s geography impacts politics and the actions of governing bodies. In the context of our course, this will refer to natural resources like minerals and how access to those natural resources translates to power.

The supremacist practice of amassing land and power through violent military force for the purpose of building an empire. Imperial forces use a variety of tactics to amass this land, such as settler colonialism, overthrowing democratically elected leaders, systematically arming and training militia to enforce imperialist policies, and more. Imperialist governments typically also extract natural resources and cheap labor from the land and its people for the purpose of amassing power and wealth.

Narratives shared by people that communicate experiences and observations as evidence or proof of the truth. For example, when corporations say they have good working conditions, exploited workers can give testimonies that prove otherwise.

Work for the purpose of producing goods or services for those in power, completed by those with less power; we will discuss dangerous working conditions and child labor in the course.

Taking resources away from a person, animal, other natural being, or the environment and land without replacing it and/or without being in a relationship of reciprocity.