Environment and Society

At a time when human and ecological well-being are ever more tightly connected, we need interdisciplinary perspectives to better understand the dynamics of nature-society relationships.

Our Research

The Environment and Society (ES) cluster provides students with a foundation in ecosystem science as well as in social science approaches to the study of human-environment interactions, including the impacts of environments (social and ecological) on health.

ES faculty and students draw on theories and methods from institutional and ecological economics, decision science, complex systems, environmental and biological anthropology, archaeology, political ecology, and science and technology studies. Students apply these perspectives to the study of diverse problems, processes and outcomes, including environmental governance, social-ecological transitions and resilience, biological conservation, ecosystem service provision, environmental politics, human biology, and patterns of environmental inequality and injustice.

Explore research directions of individual faculty by visiting their profiles and web pages.