On March 3-4 2020, The Environmental Humanities Research Cluster hosted a symposium, “Approaching Extinction, Contesting Extinction” at Miami University, with keynote lectures by Kathryn Yusoff (Department of Geography, Queen Mary University of London) and Wesley Leonard, (Department of Ethnic Studies, University of California–Riverside). ‍ Funding for the symposium was provided by Miami University Humanities Center, the Miami University department of English, and Athabasca University. Recent studies indicate that a mass species extinction is well underway on our planet. Wildlife populations have decreased by 60% in the last few decades and 70% of agricultural diversity has disappeared. By investigating entanglements between extinction narratives and political imagination, and through explorations of the social drivers and cultural dimensions of extinctions, we hope to generate strategies for countering or mobilizing fears and enabling collective response and action.