This event is part of a two-day symposium split between the campuses of the University of Rochester and RIT, which will bring together a wide range of scholars to discuss “climate havens.” As climate risks intensify, the idea of climate havens—and the identification of regions like the Great Lakes as more resilient to environmental change—raises pressing questions about space, belonging, justice, resources, and community. This symposium will explore climate havens through historical, philosophical, artistic, literary, and cultural perspectives, organized around three central themes: “What Is a Haven?”, “Whose Haven Is It?” and” Climate Havens and Natural Resources."
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SCHEDULE
APRIL 16, 2026 - UNIVERSITY OF ROCHESTER
Rush Rhees Library, Humanities Center
8:15 a.m.–9:00 a.m. | Breakfast
9:00 a.m.–9:30 a.m. | Welcome Remarks
9:30 a.m.–10:15 a.m. | Keynote address 1: “The
'Climate Haven' Myth: Why History, Place, and Race Matter”
10:15 a.m.–11:00 a.m. | Q&A and discussion
(guided by Brad Bottoms/University of Michigan, Center for Social
Solutions)
11:00 a.m.–11:15 a.m. | Break
11:15 a.m.–12:45 p.m. | Session 1: Haven for Whom? Great Lakes
(Part 1)
2:00 p.m.–3:15 p.m. | Session 2: Haven for What? Great
Lakes (Part 2)
3:15 p.m.–3:30 p.m. | Break
3:30 p.m.–4:30 p.m. | Session 3: Rochester Community
Organizations and the City Council
4:30 p.m.– 4:45 p.m. | Break.
4:45 p.m.–6:00 p.m. | Keynote address 2: “Climate Havens
Under Racial Capitalism: the Fight for Social Justice.”
6:00 p.m.–7:30 p.m. | Dinner (Lounge, Humanities
Center)
APRIL 17, 2026 - ROCHESTER INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY
Student Development Center, CSD 1300/1310
8:30 a.m.–9:00 a.m. | Breakfast
9:00 a.m.–10:15 a.m. | Keynote address (CSD Student
Development Center 1300/1310).
10:15 a.m.–12:00 p.m. | Session 4 (Zoom): Haven,
Refuge, and Sanctuary. Global Perspectives (Part 1).
12:00 p.m.–1:00 p.m. | Lunch
1:00 p.m.–2:15 p.m. | Session 5: Haven, Refuge, and
Sanctuary. Global Perspectives (Part 2). (CSD 1300/1310)
2:15 p.m.–3:15 p.m. | Session 6: Just and Inclusive
Havens: Indigenous Knowledges and Practices. (CSD 1300/1310)
3:15 p.m.–3:30 p.m. | Break
3:30 p.m.–5:00 p.m. | Session 7: Artists’
interventions. (CSD 1300/1310)
5:00 p.m.– 6:00 p.m. | Session 8: Teaching workshop.
(CSD 1300/1310)
6:00 p.m.–8:00 p.m. | Dinner (Lovin' Cup Bistro, 300
Park Point Dr, Rochester, NY 14623, lovincup.com) and discussion about
the edited volume.
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Please submit interpreting requests to myAccess.rit.edu.
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