The Evolving Relationship Between Humans and Earth

Presenter: Stephanie Ferrera, MSW

Faculty Member, Center for Family Consultation, Evanston, IL

“Man has overcome many of the forces that threatened his existence in former centuries...he has become increasingly more in control of his environment...” – Murray Bowen (Family Therapy in Clinical Practice, 271-272)

How has human evolution and history brought us to our present state of relationship with Earth, both the success and the predicament? Ms. Ferrera will review eras of human, social, and economic growth from the foragers to the farmers to the discovery of fossil fuels. She will explore ideas from several scholars on the human economic growth trajectory, how it impacted the natural world and transformed values, beliefs, and the structure and function of families and societies.

About the Presenter

Stephanie Ferrera is a founding faculty member of the Center for Family Consultation in Chicago. She is a graduate of the Post-graduate program in Bowen Family Systems Theory at the Georgetown Family Center.  Her writings have been published in Family Systems, Family Systems Forum, and book chapters.