We are thrilled to announce our 2019 Merlin Student Scholar Fellow, Henry Kramer. A graduate student at the University of Montana, Missoula, Henry is currently working toward two Master’s Degrees — one in Environmental Philosophy, and the other in Literature. A lover of inquiry and wonder, clarity and understanding, and being immersed in the great outdoors, Henry’s philosophical interests lie in the phenomenology of nature (i.e., eco-phenomenology) and the phenomenology of imagination and story. Over the course of his young life, he has served as a panelist for the United Nations, a speaker on Tedx, and a guest lecturer at Hunter College, as well as a coordinator and facilitator for the Joseph Campbell Mythological Roundtable at the Center for Symbolic Studies in Rosendale, NY and a work-study assistant to cultural ecologist and philosopher David Abram.
“I have always focused my studies on the relationship between the human mind and the natural world, the potentials of that relationship, and the role of the imagination. I take an interdisciplinary approach to the study of philosophy, religion and the human search for meaning. My long-term academic goals are to further research and better understand the imagination from an experiential perspective, and to link the internal human imaginative world with the external, dynamic ecological world. Through a deeper understanding of the connections between these two worlds, I hope to combat anthropocentrism and assist people in achieving a deeper empathy and relationship to the natural world.” — Henry
As part of his fellowship work with Merlin, Henry will be developing, conducting and co-leading several philosophy in the community projects related to the human-nature relationship, environmental ethics, ecology, eco-phenomenology, and the phenomenology of imagination and story.
To learn more about Henry and some of the projects he will be working on in 2019, visit our Merlin Fellowships page!