Learn more about the book club and how you can get involved. Any questions can be directed at Erin Riddle (607-372-5503), or Michael Corbett.
Friday, June 30, 7pm
Dr. Timothy Mitchell - Carbon Democracy: Political Power in the Age of Oil
This month we take a closer look at the relationship between democracy, the oil industry, and the ongoing environmental crisis. We are joined by Dr. Timothy Mitchell to discuss his Carbon Democracy: Political Power in the Age of Oil. Dr. Mitchell is William B. Ransford Professor and Chair of Middle Eastern, South Asian and African Studies (MESAAS) at Columbia University. Dr. Mitchell earned a first-class honors degree in History at Queens’ College, Cambridge, and a Ph.D. in Politics and Near Eastern Studies at Princeton University. His research focuses on colonialism, Middle Eastern Politics, and the role of economics and expert knowledge in government.
Previous selections:
Friday, June 30, 7pm
Dr. Timothy Mitchell - Carbon Democracy: Political Power in the Age of Oil
This month we take a closer look at the relationship between democracy, the oil industry, and the ongoing environmental crisis. We are joined by Dr. Timothy Mitchell to discuss his Carbon Democracy: Political Power in the Age of Oil. Dr. Mitchell is William B. Ransford Professor and Chair of Middle Eastern, South Asian and African Studies (MESAAS) at Columbia University. Dr. Mitchell earned a first-class honors degree in History at Queens’ College, Cambridge, and a Ph.D. in Politics and Near Eastern Studies at Princeton University. His research focuses on colonialism, Middle Eastern Politics, and the role of economics and expert knowledge in government.
May 31, 7pm
Dr. Dorceta E. Taylor - The Rise of the American Conservation Movement: Power, Privilege, and Environmental Protection
This month we take a closer look at the history of the American conservation movement. We are joined by Dr. Dorceta Taylor to discuss her book,
The Rise of the American Conservation Movement: Power, Privilege, and Environmental Protection. Dr. Taylor is James E. Crawfoot Collegiate Professor and Director of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion at the University of Michigan. Dr. Taylor's research interests include urban agriculture, food access, natural resource use, race, gender, and ethnic relations. She has an M.A. and and Ph.D. in environmental sociology from Yale University.
Listen to the archived audio of the call here. April 28, 7pm
Dr. Corey Dolgon - Kill It to Save It: An Autopsy of Capitalism's Triumph over Democracy
This month we take a closer look at the state of democracy in America. We’re joined by Dr. Corey Dolgon to discuss his most recent book on the topic: Kill It to Save It: An Autopsy of Capitalism's Triumph over Democracy. Dr. Dolgon is professor of sociology and Director of Community Based Learning at Stonehill College, and served as both chair of Worcester State College’s Sociology department and director of its Center for Service Learning and Civic Engagement. He has an M.A. in American Studies from Baylor University and a Ph.D. in American Culture from the University of Michigan. To learn more about this title and purchase a copy,
visit here or visit your local bookstore.
Listen to the archived audio of the call here.
February 28, 7pm
Dr. Fred Magdoff - What Every Environmentalist Needs to Know about Capitalism: A Citizen’s Guide to Capitalism and the Environment (written with John Bellamy Foster)
This month we are joined by Dr. Fred Magdoff to discuss his book
What Every Environmentalist Needs to Know about Capitalsim: A Citizen's Guide to Capitalism and the Environment. Dr. Magdoff is professor emeritus of plant and soil science at the University of Vermont. Dr. Magdoff’s research interests span across environmental science, environmental economics, labor economics, soil science, economic sociology, and more. He has published numerous articles on the contradictions of capitalism, class war and growing inequality, the nature of an ecologically sound and socially just economic system, agriculture and capitalism, and socialism more generally.
To learn more about this title and purchase a copy, see here or your local bookstore.
Listen to the archived audio of the call here. January 31, 2017, 7pm
Dr. Jack Smith - Killing Me Softly: Toxic Waste, Corporate Profit, and the Struggle for Environmental Justice (written with Eddie J. Girdner)
This month we are joined by Dr. Jack Smith to discuss his book
Killing Me Softly: Toxic Waste, Corporate Profit, and the Struggle for Environmental Justice. Jack Smith taught English and Philosophy at North Central Missouri College, and is the founding editor of the Green Hills Literary Lantern. Dr. Smith has also published a number of fictional works, including his novel
Hog to Hog, which won the 2007 George Garrett Fiction Prize. To learn more about this title and purchase a copy, visit
http://monthlyreview.org/product/killing_me_softly/ or your local bookstore.
December 28, 2016
Dr. Robert Gottlieb - Food Justice (written with Anupama Joshi)
This month we are joined by Dr. Robert Gottlieb. Robert Gottlieb is Research Professor of Urban and Environmental Policy and founder and former Director of the Urban and Environmental Policy Institute at Occidental College.
November 30, 2016
Dr. Jill Lindsay Harrison - Pesticide Drift and the Pursuit of Environmental Justice
In November, we talked with Dr. Jill Lindsay Harrison about her book Pesticide Drift and the Pursuit of Environmental Justice.
This book discusses the widespread airborne movement of agricultural pesticides into residential areas.
Dr. Harrison
is Associate Professor of Sociology at the University of Colorado at Boulder. She earned her Ph.D. in Environmental Studies at the University of California, Santa Cruz, with a Ph.D. minor in Environmental Sociology. Her areas of specialization include Environmental Sociology, Sociology of Agriculture and Food, Environmental Justice, Political Theories of Justice, and Immigration Politics. Dr. Harrison has also authored numerous articles on Environmental Justice and agribusiness.To learn more about this title and purchase a copy, visit https://mitpress.mit.edu/books/pesticide-drift-and-pursuit-environmental-justice or your local bookstore. Listen to the archived audio of the call here.
October 27, 2016
Dr. Liam Downey - Inequality, Democracy and the Environment
Dr. Liam Downey is an Associate Professor of Sociology, Faculty Associate in the Institute of Behavioral Science, and Faculty Associate in the Environmental Studies Program at the University of Colorado, Boulder. Professor Downey earned his Ph. D in Sociology at the University of Arizona, and has published a number of articles on the intersections between race, gender, and the environment.
Listen to the archived audio of the call here.
September 29, 2016
Dr. Dale Jamieson - Reason in a Dark Time: Why the Struggle to Stop Climate Change Failed -- and What It Means for Our Future
Dr. Jamieson is Professor of Environmental Studies and Philosophy, Affiliated Professor of Law, and Director of the Animal Studies Initiative at New York University. He has written prolifically on the topics of ethics, the environment, and climate change. Dr. Jamieson has an MA and PhD in philosophy from University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, as well as a BA in philosophy and religion from San Francisco State University.
January 28, 2016
Joel K. Bourne - The End of Plenty: The Race to Feed a Crowded World
Joel Bourne is an award-winning journalist and former Senior Editor for the Environment at National Geographic. He’s covered major environmental issues for the magazine, including the global food crisis of 2008, the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, and California’s recurrent water woes. With a degree in agronomy, Bourne frequently reports on the global food system. Most recently he contributed two articles to National Geographic‘s ground-breaking eight-part series, “The Future of Food,” reporting on the agricultural land rush in Africa, as well as new sustainable methods of aquaculture being practiced around the world.
September 28, 2015
Wenonah Hauter - Foodopoly: The Battle over the Future of Food and Farming in America
Wenonah Hauter joined us via conference call for a Q&A discussion of her book Foodopoly: The Battle over the Future of Food and Farming in America on Wendesday, September 28. To learn more about this title and purchase a copy, visit http://thenewpress.com/books/foodopoly or your local bookstore.
Archived audio of the call.
August 26, 2015
Dr. Rob Nixon - Slow Violence and the Environmentalism of the Poor
Dr. Rob Nixon joined us via conference call for a Q&A discussion of his book Slow Violence and the Environmentalism of the Poor on Wednesday, August 26 at 7:30pm.
Order a copy and learn more about the book.
Archived audio of the call.
July 22, 2015
Dr. Jane A. Grant - Community, Democracy and the Environment: Learning to Share the Future
Dr. Grant joined us via conference call for a Q&A discussion of her book Community, Democracy, and the Environment: Learning to Share the Future.
Learn more about the book.
Archived audio on the call.
June 24, 2015
Dr. Zephyr Teachout - Corruption in America: From Benjamin Franklin's Snuff Box to Citizens United
Dr. Teachout joined us via conference call for a Q&A discussion of her book Corruption in America: From Benjamin Franklin's Snuff Box to Citizens United.
Learn more about the book.
Archived audio of the call.