About (ignore for now)

Philosophy of Water Project

About the Philosophy of Water Project

The UNT Philosophy of Water Project promotes water education, research, and outreach activities with local and international organizations, providing intellectual analyses, hands-on learning experiences, collaborative connections, and academic conferences. The project has been funded since 2003 by the Dixon Water Foundation and collaborates with departments throughout UNT as well as other international universities and institutes.

Without water there is no life. In the 21st Century humans have become primary ‘drivers’ of the pressures on our planet’s water systems. More than ever it is crucial to understand the cultural ways humans interact with water. It is in this context that the University of North Texas Philosophy of Water Project plays a unique role as the first university program in the world that approaches water issues from a philosophical-cultural perspective.

Funded since 2003 by the Dixon Water Foundation the project has promoted water education, research, and outreach activities with local, regional, national and international organizations, providing intellectual analyses, hand on learning experiences, collaborative connections, and academic conferences, all centered on cultural relations to water. Collaborating with departments throughout UNT as well as other (inter)national universities and institutes such as UNESCO, the Water Project operates in a profoundly interdisciplinary way.

The Water Project has taken a leading role by representing UNT at a steering group of faculty from UTA and SMU to develop a proposal to the National Science Foundation (NSF) to create an Urban Long-Term Research Area (ULTRA) in North Texas. The focus is on how human-environment interactions in the urban reaches of the Trinity River are influenced by, and influence, water quality and quantity.

The interdisciplinary and international character of the Water Project, with its solid relations to various UNESCO programs and focus on local and global water sustainability, contributes to UNT’s Strategic Plan in its mission to reach the status of national research – or tier one – university.

In what follows, one can find an overview of the highlights of the project, as well as detailed appendix of all elements of the Philosophy of Water Project. We are hoping to continue this exciting realm of research and education with an ongoing renewed influx of students and projects.

Regards,

Dr. Irene Klaver, Director, Philosophy of Water Project Associate Professor, Department of Philosophy and Religion Studies University of North Texas