My Summer Class on Plastic Pollution ♻
Please share with the students in your life!
Hey readers,
Every summer, I offer a 4-credit course on plastic pollution to Five College students (for them, it counts as a Gen Ed). Thanks to University+, anyone in the world can take the class too.
More info is available on my website, including the syllabus, financial aid info, and a full FAQ. https://www.thatannamarie.com/plastic
In short, the class is about how plastic is made, why it's so harmful, and how it connects to the broader systemic issues of colonialism and capitalism. We talk about why plastic is hard to recycle from a materials science perspective, the health impacts of plastic, and how we can fight back beyond individualistic actions like "putting stuff in the right bin" or "shopping smarter", although these things do matter.
I've found that much of the education about the harms of plastic comes from environmental activists who mean well but are not experts in polymer physics. As a result, these people tend to exaggerate the harms of plastics or spread outright misinformation (e.g. that no plastic is truly recyclable), leading to confusion, a lack of trust from policy-makers, or defeatism as everyday people give up on trying to make the world better. Meanwhile, Big Oil will try to tell you that plastic is a modern miracle and that recycling works perfectly, which is also clearly incorrect. My goal is to use my scientific expertise to cut through the noise and give a balanced, scientifically-informed perspective on plastic, providing you with tangible action items on how to live a healthier life and advocate for a more just world.
The course features perspectives from disability activists, Indigenous scientists, feminist scholars, and more. It is taught by me, Dr. Anna Marie LaChance, a trans woman and chemical engineer who believes science should work for the people, not megacorps. I'm also proud to share that I'm completing an IDEAS Course Design Institute (CDI) program to ensure that the course meets UDL standards for accessibility.
Enrollment for the summer is already open. Please share this flyer & website with the young people in your life, including non-UMass college students and current high schoolers starting college in the Fall! Also, consider taking it yourself; I've had young professionals in the recycling industry take the class and get a lot from it. Note that even though it's listed as a chemical engineering class, and ChemE is a tough major, I've explicitly made the content approachable to anyone, even those with no STEM background.
Happy learning!
-Anna
