Interview with 2023 USRA recipient: Zachary Gan

Can you start off by sharing the title of your 2023  Undergraduate Student Research Award (USRA) project?
Zachary Gan: Confronting the Anthropocene: An Exploration of Climate Change Through Ecological Philosophy and Poetry

Can you tell us about your research project?
Zachary Gan: My project looked at the intersection of French ecological philosophy (Serres and Latour) and Canadian eco-poetry (Jan Zwicky, Katherena Vermette, Tim Lilburn, and Don Domanski). I explored poetic contributions to philosophical discussions about the Anthropocene, focusing on topics such as the epistemological roots of the climate crisis, human-nonhuman relationality, and the role of eros as political/philosophical position in the Anthropocene.

Looking back now, can you share a bit about your experience working on this project?
Zachary Gan: In the first two months of my project, I focused on immersing myself in ecological philosophical thought, going through the works of Bruno Latour and Michel Serres. This involved pretty much full days of reading dense philosophical texts and writing detailed notes and annotations. It also helped, however, that poetry was a central element of my project, so each of my days also involved reading at least a few poems. The next month was focused on the poetry itself, where I conducted close readings of four poetry/prose collections and worked on theorizing my final essay. Planning and writing the first draft of the paper took about a month, and I had a rough copy of it by the end of the USRA. I’ve been revising and editing in coordination with my supervisor over the past two semesters and will be sending the paper to academic journals this summer.

How did the USRA complement or build on your studies in the Arts & Science Program?
Zachary Gan: I was introduced to philosophical thinking about the aesthetics of nature and the climate crisis during the first-year course Practices of Knowledge, and the instructor for that course ended up being my supervisor. The USRA really helped give my academic interests some direction and helped to inform the selection of my thesis topic, which will examine Marxist political theory approaches to Anthropocene philosophy. It was a pretty remarkable experience to get to spend an entire summer doing a deep dive into a topic that interested me, and exposure to influential theorists like Bruno Latour has equipped me with a new lens to other areas of my academics.

Do you have any advice for students interested in applying for an Arts & Science USRA in future?
Zachary Gan: I would say that reaching out to supervisors well before the due date is important. Allowing yourself the luxury to be flexible, and for your project to shift based on your supervisor’s suggestions, is very important. Try not to be too rigid in your initial project idea, listen to what your supervisor suggests, and be open and earnest about your academic interests and desired outcomes from the USRA. By taking their advice into account (as well as having plenty of time to incorporate it), your proposal will be well thought-out and intentional.

Any final thoughts?
Zachary Gan: Try to build connections with profs well before you apply for the award by going to office hours and just being curious in general. That way they have some idea of your interests, your approaches and ideas, and how they might be able to help guide a successful project as a potential supervisor.

Click here to read interviews with the other 2023 USRA recipients.