Sea Turtles and the Role Charismatic Creatures Play in Environmental Humanities with Professor Stephen Levin

Challenge. Change.

English Professor Stephen Levin spent his summer with the turtles.

He traveled to Barbados and Trinidad to observe sea turtles and how they’ve become a focal point in tourism — a fellow tourist told Levin her motivation for visiting the turtles was “evidence of divinity.” It’s part of his latest research in the environmental humanities, which underscores the role that literature and the arts play in seeking solutions to problems such as climate change.

“One of the questions in the environmental humanities is how much has to disappear before we realize that we are at risk of disappearing,” says Levin. “There's a profound awareness watching these turtles that our fate is tied to theirs.”

On this episode, Levin discusses what it was like to watch six-foot-long turtles bury their eggs at the Grand Riviere beach in Trinidad, challenges the idea of human exceptionalism, and examines the costs and benefits of using charismatic creatures like lions, tigers, bears, and turtles to spread messages about the climate and environment.

“How do we understand the marketing of these turtles and their status as commodities with the attendant reality that the focus on this charismatic species has brought attention to conservation efforts and it appears to have created a reverence among the tourists who encounter and visit these turtles,” says Levin. “I think it's important to recognize the complexity.”

This research is part of Levin’s forthcoming book, “Figures of Disappearance: Selfhood in an Era of Mass Extinction,” which examines loss and absence in the era of the climate crisis.

Challenge. Change. is produced by Melissa Hanson for Clark University. Listen and subscribe on Spotify or Apple Podcasts. Find other episodes wherever you listen to podcasts.