Combining Two Cultures Conference Tackles Sustainability

Over the weekend of 20-21 March 2021, dozens of undergraduate students in interdisciplinary programs from across Canada (and one from Wales) gathered virtually for the annual Combining Two Cultures conference, founded by McMaster’s Arts & Science Program students in 2010. At C2C 2021: Root to Rise, co-chaired by current Artsci students Sharang Sharma and Chloe Sloan, delegates took part in a series of skill sessions, working groups, and guest speaker lectures, all of which pertained to the conference theme of sustainability.

In their working groups and skill sessions, delegates meaningfully engaged with specific manifestations of sustainability. All workshops were entirely created, produced, and led by students of the Arts & Science Program at McMaster University:

• Andrew Canete: Considerations for a Sustainable Diet
• Andrea Chang: Art for Climate Justice
• Elias Elaneh & Vanessa Natareno: Green Brain: Let’s Sustain! A Psychological Approach to Sustainability
• Oishee Ghosh: People and Pandemic
• Sophie Marchetti: The Sustainable Student
• Abigail Mazurek: Dealing with Climate Anxiety
• Daniella Mikanovsky: A Low-Waste Menstruation Conversation
• Sharang Sharma: Useless Art

In the guest lectures, delegates had the opportunity to hear from Mr. Bruce Knotts, Director of the Unitarian Universalist Association Office at the United Nations, and Mr. Eric Miller, economist and David Suzuki Fellow.

C2C 2021: Root to Rise would not have been possible without the executive team that had been planning the event since January 2020: current Artsci students Lia Fraleigh, Nashita Junaid, Grace Kim, Sophie Marchetti, Zahra Panju, Derek Shen, Tess Vosper, Audrey Wu; former Artsci Renee Chong; and University of Waterloo Knowledge Integration student, Stephanie Tywonek.