Considering Hope in a Climate Change World

For good reason, a growing number of people are suspicious of the idea of hope. Has hope become a luxury, a form of evasion, or a soothing panacea for the privileged?

The 2025 Science and Humanities Lecture, "Considering Hope in a Climate Change World," will explore the meaning of hope, how it differs from optimism, and why we need it, especially in a world marked by the varying crises that climate change represents. 

Offered by Norman Wirzba, the lecture will take place on April 3, 2025, at 4 pm in the Burke Auditorium of the McGowan School of Business.

Wirzba’s work focuses on the intersections of theology, philosophy, ecology, and agrarian and environmental studies. He lectures frequently in Canada, the United States, and Europe. As director of research at Duke’s Office of Climate and Sustainability, he works with colleagues from across the institution to develop multi-disciplinary research programs that address the social and ecological dimensions of climate change.

He also served as director of a multi-year, Henry Luce-Foundation-funded projected entitled “Facing the Anthropocene,” which deployed an international team of scholars to rethink several academic disciplines in light of challenges like climate change, food insecurity, biotechnology and genetic engineering, artificial intelligence, species extinction, and the built environment.

Wirzba has published several books, including Love’s Braided Dance: Hope in a Time of Crisis, Agrarian Spirit: Cultivating Faith, Community, and the Land, The Paradise of God: Renewing Religion in an Ecological Age, Living the Sabbath: Discovering the Rhythms of Rest and Delight, Way of Love: Recovering the Heart of Christianity, From Nature to Creation: A Christian Vision for Understanding and Loving Our World, Food and Faith: A Theology of Eating, and (with Fred Bahnson) Making Peace with the Land: God’s Call to Reconcile with Creation.

He also serves as general editor for the book series Culture of the Land: A Series in the New Agrarianism, published by the University Press of Kentucky, and is co-founder and executive committee member of the Society for Continental Philosophy and Theology.

The event is sponsored by the McGowan Center for Ethics and Social Responsibility.