"A dozen Harvard students huddled around a table — their laptops open — trying to find new words to redefine a phenomenon they've seen happening their whole lives: climate change.
That's the assignment on this December morning: invent futuristic words for a world in the throes of climate change.
'Catastrohood,' said junior Sabrina Freidus. It's a word describing a particularly tight-knit community formed in response to a disaster.
Other students offered their own: 'pralayakam' and 'Climate-self' to the delight of English professor Sarah Dimick.
Classes like this one, called Climate Change Literature, are part of the rise of 'environmental humanities' majors at United States colleges and universities from Harvard to the University of Wisconsin to UCLA. Wildfires, floods and extreme weather have spurred deep climate anxiety among students who are wrestling with big questions about the future of the planet. Dimick's class, which she created, aims to help students cope through the discussion and dissection of books and creative works."
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