On Friday February 21st, a memorial was held for Janet Abu-Lughod at the New School.  The following note by Prof. Kumru Toktamis is written in tribute to her friend and mentor's life and scholarship.



I am saddened by the loss of this intellectual giant, exemplary fighter and loving mentor. We had dinner right after Eric Hobsbawm's memorial in October. With her keen gaze and red cheeks she was aware she was among her students who admired her and participated in our lively conversation with appreciative smiles.

Among hundreds of wonderful memories of her, from Istanbul to New York, my favorite was when I visited her right after the Arab "Spring" and Occupy Wall Street. I was full of excitement and a need to share with her my son Mavi's activism at Zuccotti Park, as well as my time in Libya.

Since she was having difficulty talking, I went on and on. Finally I asked her, "So Janet, what do you think?" Her response was straight: "Kumru I don't think anymore. I thought a lot and I said what I wanted to say. Now it is..."  Listening intently, I thought she was going to say, "it is your turn."  She said, "Now it is Mavi's turn.”

Mavi is now an undergraduate at the New School; I am still teaching her books to my students; and she remains a very big part of our intellectual and political life.

Kumru Toktamis
Pratt Institute

The eight circuits of the Thirteenth century world system. Janet Abu-Lughod, "Before European Hegemony: The World System A.D. 1250-1350". http://lxsmuchxs.files.wordpress.com/2012/02/il1.gif

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The Department of Social Science and Cultural Studies is pleased to announce an addition to the Minor in Sustainability Studies. The minor deepens the understanding of the interdisciplinary approach to sustainable environmental, economic, and social practices, providing students with a broad understanding of the complex interrelationships between humans and ecosystems and the best practices for protecting environmental quality and fostering social equity.

The minor can be combined with any undergraduate major and requires the completion of 15 credits approved in Sustainability Studies. Effective immediately, students may count CM 446 Sustainable Construction Management as an elective for the minor. The list of courses students may now use for the minor now includes:

SUST 201 The Sustainable Core (3 credits, required)
MSCI 270 Ecology (3 credits, required. May substitute MSCI 271 or 280)
CM 446 Sustainable Construction Management (3 credits, elective)
SUST 401 Power, Pollution, and Profit (3 credits, elective)
SUST 405 Production, Consumption, and Waste (3 credits, elective)
PHIL 356 Environmental Ethics (3 credits, elective)
INT 332 Environmental Theory (2 credits, elective)
IND 487 Sustainability and Production (2 credits, elective)
MSCI 426 Toxics in the Environment (1 credit, elective)
MSCI 438 Chemistry of Modern Polymeric Materials (3 credits, elective)

We expect to add more elective options to the minor next year. To register for the minor, or for any questions on these courses, please contact the coordinator Carl Zimring at czimring@pratt.edu.

Carl Zimring offers SUST 401 Power, Pollution, and Profit each spring.  In the first half of the semester, the class discusses the energy sources that have powered industrial society and the consequences of using these sources.  The second half of the semester focuses on evaluating our options for addressing those consequences going forward, and how paths developed over the past two centuries may limit or expand the options we have as we attempt to reduce industrial society's dependence on fossil fuels.

Since the class is discussing the uses of coal and oil in powering the Industrial Revolution at this stage of the semester, early February is an ideal time to visit Pratt's historic power plant and bask in the steam as the world outside is encased in ice.  Built to serve the Institute in 1887, the boilers transitioned from coal to oil apparently some time in September of 1888.  Modifications and improvements happened over the years, and this plant has served the school for over 125 years.

In 1977, the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) designated the plant a landmark, an intact example of how we have harnessed fossil fuel to power a school since the nineteenth century.  Touring this landmark gives students a far less dry (not only due to the steam) example of this important chapter of human history than a powerpoint lecture would convey.  

For almost fifty years, Conrad Milster has served as Pratt's chief engineer.  Each New Year's Eve concluding with 2013, he has connected steam from the plant to whistles that ring in the New Year.  He is an invaluable resource for the history of Pratt Institute, and we were fortunate in SUST401 to draw upon his expertise for a guided tour of the facility.  

We began our tour at the ground-level entrance of East Hall and looked down upon the General Electric
turbines on the floor below.  There is not much noise on the ground level, so Conrad gave the class some context for why the plant was built, how it evolved over the years, and what the students were going to see when they went down to the louder lower level (and talking would be more difficult).

After this introduction, the class descended the stairs to see the boilers in action.  This was loud but fascinating, as we saw the network of pipes and meters in place for decades do their work.  Students remarked that the boilers extended through under the sidewalks outside East Hall.  Looking up at a grate, one student remarked that he had walked over it so many times and had no idea what was beneath his feet.  The tour both provided a perspective on the history of energy in industrial society and raised awareness of the complex infrastructure we take for granted every day.

We thank Conrad Milster for his time and access to this historic landmark.