We asked Associate Professor and Chair of the Philosophy Department Marion Hourdequin: What’s On Your Reading List?

I am currently reading a book by Lauret Savoy titled “Trace: Memory, History, Race, and the American Landscape.” Savoy’s engaging memoir describes her relationship to many regions of the United States, weaving her personal stories with those of the land. She recounts her move from California to Washington, D.C., for example, recalling how she traversed the country as a child. Then as an adult, she retraces her steps, reflecting on her mixed racial identity and how various landscapes represent or fail to represent the complex human and natural histories of place. The book interests me in part because of my own work in environmental philosophy, which attempts to take account of the ways in which culture and nature intertwine.