SECTION ON ENVIRONMENTAL SOCIOLOGY

Reshaping the Study of Sociology
 
SECTION ON ENVIRONMENTAL SOCIOLOGY

Winter 2024 Newsletter

The Winter 2024 issue of the Environmental Sociology Section Newsletter is now available for download in PDF format. In this issue: A message from the publications committee chair, Michael Haedicke; many important recent book and article publications; calls for abstract submissions to conferences, a special issue of Valuation Studies, and an edited volume
addressing queer climate justice and information on the ASA Paper/Extended Abstract Call for Submissions for the ASA 2024 meeting in Montréal.

Environmental Sociology Section Award Nominations

Please see below for descriptions and nomination instructions for the four awards that our Section will grant this year, and consider nominating yourself or a colleague! Nominees do not need to be section members, but in accordance with ASA policies, award recipients must be current members of the American Sociological Association at the time the award is given. The same award will not be given to the same individual more than once.

The Environmental Sociology Outstanding Publication Award

This is given for publications of special noteworthiness in the field of environmental sociology. This year the committee will consider books published within the period January 1, 2021, through December 31, 2023. Self-nominations are welcome. To nominate a book, please email a nomination letter by March 15th, 2024 to Policy & Research Committee Chair, Nikhil Deb (ndeb@calpoly.edu).

The Environmental Sociology Student Paper Award

The purpose of this award is to recognize an outstanding paper written by a graduate student or group of graduate students. All members of the Section and the ASA are encouraged to submit nominations; self-nominations are also welcome. In addition to recognition, recipients will receive a modest monetary award. Papers do not have to be published, accepted for publication or submitted to the ASA meeting to be considered. They must have been submitted to the ASA annual meeting and/or to a journal by a graduate student(s) between January 1st, 2023 and December 31st, 2023 in order to be considered. Papers co-authored with faculty are ineligible. To nominate a paper, please send a PDF copy of the paper along with a nomination letter that includes information about the paper’s status by March 15th, 2024 to Policy & Research Committee Chair, Nikhil Deb (ndeb@calpoly.edu).

The Environmental Sociology Distinguished Contribution Award.

This award is given annually to recognize individuals for outstanding service, innovation, or publication in environmental sociology. It is intended to be an expression of appreciation, awarded when an individual is deemed extraordinarily meritorious by the Section. All members of the Section are encouraged to submit nominations; self-nominations are welcome. Nominations for this award must be received by April 15th, 2024. To nominate an individual for this award, please send a letter of nomination describing the nominee’s contribution to environmental sociology and/or the sociology of technology, accompanied by a copy of the nominee’s CV, to the chair of the award committee, Sandra Marquart-Pyatt, Past-Chair, (marqua41@msu.edu). Please put “Distinguished Contribution Award Nomination” in the subject line.

The Environmental Sociology Teaching and Mentorship Award

This award honors faculty members who demonstrate a notable dedication to teaching and mentorship, including through innovative pedagogy; actionable attention to diversity, equity, and inclusion; robust community-engaged approaches; and/or other elements of excellence in the teaching of environmental sociology and mentorship of students at the undergraduate and/or graduate level. All members of the Section are encouraged to submit nominations; self-nominations are welcome. The award is open to faculty of any rank, including tenure-track or contingent positions. Nomination packages should be scanned into a single PDF and submitted by email to Alan Rudy (rudy1a@cmich.edu) by April 15, 2024. Nomination packages should include: (1) Letter of Nomination, not to exceed 2 pages, (2) personal statement on teaching and mentorship philosophy, not to exceed 3 pages, (3) CV with the relevant components highlighted, such as teaching/mentoring awards and activities, publications or presentations co‐authored with students (underline the names of student co‐authors and indicate whether undergraduate, master’s, or doctoral student). Nominations will be vetted within two weeks and a selection of candidates will be asked to submit a comprehensive packet of additional materials including: (1) a maximum of 5 letters of student support (any mix of present or past students), (2) a maximum of 2 additional letters of support from colleagues who are not former students, (3) a maximum of 3 syllabi or other relevant material from the past 5 years, and (4) excerpts or summaries of teaching evaluations as desired.

Winter 2023 Newsletter

The Winter 2023 issue of the Environmental Sociology Section Newsletter is now available for download in PDF format. In this issue: A message from the publications committee chair, Michael Haedicke; two feature essays “From the Front Lines of CoP 27” and “Hazardous Energy Fueling the Pain of Rural Women in Pakistan”; many important recent book and article publications; and information on the ASA Paper/Extended Abstract Call for Submissions for the ASA 2024 meeting in Montréal.

Summer 2023 Newsletter

The Summer 2023 issue of the Environmental Sociology Section Newsletter is now available for download in PDF format. In this issue: A message from the publications committee chair, Michael Haedicke; two feature essays “Remembering Addie Levine” and “Risk and Greed in Brazil’s Northeastern Region”; many important recent book and article publications; and Environmental Sociology Section Award winners; and information on the Env soc section meeting at ASA. Congratulations to all of our esteemed award winners!

New Section Council Members:

Chair-Elect
Raoul S. Liévanos, University of Oregon

Membership Committee Chair
Jennifer Givens, Utah State University

Treasurer
Maricarmen Hernandez, Columbia University

Teaching, Training and Practice Committee Chair
Alan Rudy, Central Michigan University

Spring 2023 Newsletter

The Spring 2023 issue of the Environmental Sociology Section Newsletter is now available for download in PDF format. In this issue: A message from the publications committee chair, Michael Haedicke; three feature essays on “Rotten Apples: The Externalities of Urban Greening”, “The Impact of Extreme Weather Events on Food Service Workers in British Columbia”, and “Stony Brook University’s ‘Turbulent Times’ Colloquium”; many important recent book and article publications; several announcements and opportunities including the CONVERGE Positionality in Hazards and Disaster Research and Practice Training Module and Demonstration Webinar, University of Minnesota Institute on the Environment Postdoctoral Fellowship Program, and Society for Human Ecology International Conference Call for Submissions; and the 2023 Section on Environmental Sociology Call for Awards.

Winter 2023 Newsletter

The Winter 2023 issue of the Environmental Sociology Section Newsletter is now available for download in PDF format. In this issue: A message from the publications committee chair, Michael Haedicke; two feature essays “From the Front Lines of CoP 27” and “Hazardous Energy Fueling the Pain of Rural Women in Pakistan”; many important recent book and article publications; and ASA Paper/Extended Abstract calls and descriptions of Environmental Sociology Section Sessions at the ASA annual meeting.

Fall 2022 Newsletter

The Fall 2022 issue of the Environmental Sociology Section Newsletter is now available for download in PDF format. In this issue: A message from the publications committee chair, Michael Haedicke; A request for proposals by the Climate Social Science Network for research into the structural, political, and institutional dynamics of climate change politics outside the U.S. and Canada; Calls for papers from PLOS Climate, PLOS Water, and the Russel Sage Foundation Journal of the Social Sciences; An announcement and call for papers for the upcoming Environmental Sociology Mini-Conference in Baltimore, MD; and many important recent book and article publications.

Summer 2022 Newsletter

The Summer 2022 issue of the Environmental Sociology Section Newsletter is now available for download (PDF). In this issue: A message from the section chair, Norah MacKendrick; A welcome for new section council members (see below); The Environmental Sociology Section schedule for August’s ASA Conference; An announcement about an upcoming conference, Navigating Uncertain Futures: Social Engagement and Transformative Change in Global Socio-Ecological Systems; ASA Environmental Sociology Section Award Winners; An excellent feature essay by Lourdes Vera entitled “How Mentorship Can Challenge Legacies of Oppression in Academia”; and many important recent publications (both books and articles).

New Section Council Members:

Chair-Elect: Debra Davidson, University of Alberta
Legacy Chair: Scott Frickel, Brown University
Council Member-at-Large: Michael Warren Murphy, University of Pittsburgh
Nominations Committee Chair: Cameron T. Whitley, Western Washington University
Publications Committee Chair: Michael Haedicke, University of Maine
Policy and Research Committee Chair: Nikhil Deb, Murray State University
Digital Communications Co-Chair (Webmaster): Michael Lengefeld, Bemidji State University
Digital Communications Co-Chair (Social Media): Christina Ergas, University of Tennessee
Graduate Student Representative: Margaret Walkover, University of Hawai’i – Manoa

2022 Award Winners

We are very pleased to announce the winners of our section awards for 2022. We will be celebrating these achievements at the ASA meeting in August.

Allan Schnaiberg Outstanding Publication Award

Amalia Leguizamón (Tulane University) for Seeds of Power: Environmental Injustice and Genetically Modified Soybeans in Argentina (2020, Duke University Press) 

Honorable Mention: Colin Jerolmack (New York University) for Up to Heaven and Down to Hell: Fracking, Freedom, and Community in an American Town (2021, Princeton University Press).

Fred Buttel Distinguished Contribution Award

David Pellow (University of California, Santa Barbara)  

Mentorship and Teaching Award 

Kristen Shorette (State University of New York at Stony Brook) 

Marvin E. Olsen Student Paper Award (co-winners)

Kristen Vinyeta (University of Oregon) for “Under the guise of science: how the US Forest Service deployed settler colonial and racist logics to advance an unsubstantiated fire suppression agenda” and

Daniel Driscoll (University of California, San Diego) for “Populism and Carbon Tax Justice: The Yellow Vest Movement in France.” 

We would like to thank the committee chairs, Rachael Shwom, Sara Grineski, Alissa Cordner, and Janet Lorenzen, as well as the readers/reviewers: Trina Running, Kevin Smiley, Pierce Greenberg, Natasha Miric, Matt Comi, Casey Mullen, and Dalton Richardson, Michael Mendez, Joshua Basseches, Erik Johnson, John Briscoe, Tariq Niazi, Angela Mertig, Jennifer Givens, Annabel Ipsen, and Brian O’Neill, and members of our section council.

Link to Section Awards

April 25th Virtual Event

Our section recently hosted an online event entitled, “Teaching Environmental Sociology in a Time of Radical Flux.” We had such an amazing panel! Much appreciation goes out to Dr. Jennifer Carrera (Michigan State University), Dr. Marla Pérez-Lugo (University of Texas Rio Grande Valley), and Dr. Mehmet Soyer (Utah State University).

In case you missed the event (or if you just want to watch it again!), we have a link to the recording of the first part of it: https://youtu.be/No-thPlJnks (we had breakout sessions in the second part, which we didn’t record). What a great event!