“Communication is nothing more than the exchange of information. Hence, at its broadest sense, environmental communication is necessary for the survival of every living system, be it an organism, an ecosystem, or a social system.”
-Alexander G. Flo (Environmental Communication, 2004)
The interdisciplinary field of environmental humanities weaves together research from the natural, applied, and social sciences with storytelling, art, creativity, and community building. It values indigenous ways of knowing as well as non-human perspectives.
Animal Tarot
For a summer class on the ethics of our relationships with non-human animals, Remy Sumida-Tate decided to redesign a tarot deck using animal imagery.
Using their impressive digital art skills, Remy created the entire Major Arcana in virtual form. Each card provided the opportunity for interpreting our relationship to other species.
Remy says, “This tarot invites readers to meditate on the meanings animals have to them, as well as our connection to the natural world as a whole. The cards in this deck focus almost entirely on the animal itself, with each also referencing a small aspect of the traditional Rider-Waite deck’s imagery. The animals present on each card were chosen for the animal’s actual behaviors in nature, human interpretation and association with the animal, or a combination of both.”
Their “Axolotl” card was a response to Julio Cortázar’s story of the same name. Remy explains, “As in the short story, the relatively blank face - and the continuing association with water - invites us to reflect upon ourselves. The destruction of the axolotl’s habitat also offers us a reckoning in line with the card’s Rider-Waite imagery, as it forces us to consider the impact we have on our environment.”