International Sociology and International Sociology Reviews

Environment
‘Environment’ is our Topic of the Month for February 2021. On this topic, enjoy Free Access all month to this article by Diana Stuart (Sustainable Communities Graduate Program and School of Earth and Sustainability, Northern Arizona University, USA), Ryan Gunderson (Miami University, USA) and Brian Petersen (Northern Arizona University, USA) published in International Sociology, The climate crisis as a catalyst for emancipatory transformation: An examination of the possible. Read on to know more about the authors’ trajectory and work:

Diana Stuart

Why are you working on this topic? Could you share an experience, a fact or a person who made you get engaged on that research?

D. Stuart: I was inspired to begin this article after seeing unprecedented protests and acts of civil disobedience demanding climate action in 2019. This article represents a logical extension of our past work on climate change solutions, as it focuses on social transformation and the big question: how do we get there? The co-authors and I have been writing about climate change solutions for the past several years. We began with a critical analysis of solar geoengineering as a climate change solution. We subsequently published articles analyzing carbon markets, green technology, carbon engineering, and over-production and consumption. Many of these ideas are synthesized in our two books: Climate Change Solutions: Beyond the Capital-Climate Contradiction (University of Michigan Press) and The Degrowth Alternative: A Path to Address our Environmental Crisis? (Routledge). We have also written short opinion and analysis pieces for general audiences examining proposals for a Green New Deal and the climate movement.

Do you have any video, recorded conference, or online material that you would like us to share with others?

D. Stuart: We all have websites:

Diana Stuart: https://dianastuartresearch.wordpress.com/

Ryan Gunderson: https://rgsoc.blogspot.com/

Brian Petersen: https://directory.nau.edu/?person=bcp72

What would you emphasize about your academic trajectory? Can you highlight which have been your academic positions, universities, awards, departments and research centers?

Diana Stuart and Brian Petersen are Associate Professors at Northern Arizona University. Ryan Gunderson is an Assistant Professor at Miami University.

Diana and Brian are a married couple and Diana served on Ryan’s PhD committee in the Sociology Department at Michigan State University ten years ago. This initiated a fruitful collaboration.

Ryan Gunderson received the 2019 Early Career Award from the Association for Environmental Studies and Sciences and the 2020 Miami University Junior Faculty Scholar Award.

Their co-authored book, Climate Change Solutions: Beyond the Capital-Climate Contradiction (University of Michigan Press) has been nominated for a 2020 Nautilus Book Award.

Do you want to add any other information?

D. Stuart: Demanding bold climate action is more important than ever. We plan to continue our work examining climate change solutions and the climate movement, especially as the landscape of policy possibilities in the US shifts. Our work is informed by theory but also highly relevant to climate politics. We hope to continue publishing for both academic and general audiences.