The More-than-Human(ities) Lab is a multidisciplinary “playgroup”–to borrow from Anna Tsing–dedicated to sharing resources in support of collaborative environmental humanities research. Launched in 2024 as a research cluster of The Humanities Institute, MtH offers speaking events, reading groups, and manuscript “share seshes” for those interested in the more-than-human and with different intellectual, artistic, and community-engaged roots. From its start, our sincere aim has been to make the group a collaborative place.

To this end, we invite you to our lab’s meet-and-greet on Tuesday, September 30 from 12:00-1:30pm in Humanities 1, 210. Light refreshments will be served. This will be our chance to come together to get to know one another, share one wish, question, and/or response for/to the lab, and discuss lab activities for the year ahead.

The welcome will feature a reading by poet and essayist Pedro Uc Be from Buctzotz, Yucatán. Pedro is one of the foremost voices against the development of the so-called Maya Train. His work explores how language is inseparable from land and how environmental ethics are frequently embedded within language itself.

You may also sign up for updates on the website linked above. This event is open to UCSC faculty, students, and staff only.