Chris Hall

Impact Narrative

Chris Hall is a community college professor at Sierra College in California. He is also a writer, and environmental activist. He notes that “It is my sincere belief that the only way to transform the current global industrial system toward a more sustainable way of living is to teach human beings, through a bio-regionally informed and interdisciplinary pedagogy, to understand their place as members of the biotic communities to which we belong. In my classroom, I emphasize the importance of empathy for all lifeforms and encourage students to consider honestly the impact of their lifestyles–consumption, procreation, etc.–on other human beings and on the more-than-human world.”

Chris also volunteers personally — and recruit student volunteers — to assist environmental organizations in his local bioregion in order to spread awareness of human overpopulation and overconsumptive lifestyles — both of which he thinks exacerbate ecological overshoot. Toward this end, he advises an on-campus student club which organizes an annual Earth Day event, and which has helped clean up local watersheds and built a sustainable educational garden on campus.

Chris will work with five copies of OVER to assist him in both his classroom and club roles, in ensuring the continued inspiration and education of students, with the end goal of “achieving nothing short of total cultural transformation—from individualistic hyper-consumption to ecological consciousness and reciprocity”.

Chris will employ one copy of OVER as part of an interdisciplinary approach to first-year composition and literature, and will distribute two copies of the book as prizes to students who show engagement and dedication to their education. Additionally, a copy of OVER will be raffled at the local Earth Day event as a prize and a way to generate awareness of the Speak Out campaign. Finally, Chris will keep a copy for himself and his wife as useful additions to their professional libraries.