SSSP SECTION ON ENVIRONMENT & TECHNOLOGY Fall 2018 Newsletter THIS ISSUE'S FEATURED CONTENT: Chair's Message - 2 Grad Editor Intro - 3 Meeting Theme - 4 E&T Sessions - 6 Guest Column - 9 New Publications – 12 2019 SSSP ANNUAL MEETING IN NEW YORK, NY The Society for the Study of Social Problems 69th Annual Meeting August 9-11, 2019 Roosevelt Hotel New York City, NY Call for Papers Each participant is permitted to submit one sole-authored paper and one sole-authored critical dialogue paper, but additional co-authored papers may be submitted. Critical Dialogue sessions include short (5 minute) presentations by up to 8 authors followed by facilitated dialogue that critically explores connections among the papers. The audience will have an opportunity to participate in the dialogue as well. Emphasis is placed on exploring interesting connections between papers with a broadly similar theme. The hope is that both presenters and the audience will have an opportunity to make new and deeper connections from their unique insights and presented ideas. Critical Dialogue sessions will not have audio-visual equipment. All papers must be submitted by midnight (EST) on January 31, 2019 in order to be considered. MESSAGE FROM THE CHAIR Nels Paulson, SSSP E&T Chair University of Wisconsin-Stout Dear E&T Division Members, Happy Fall!  I hope this newsletter finds you all in the joy of doing research, teaching, and activism that continues to make a positive impact on our social world.  Thanks to all who attended the SSSP meeting in Philadelphia- it was such a pleasure to be inspired by our members!  I am hopeful for next year already. I write from Menomonie, Wisconsin contemplating how to teach about our social and environmental problems in the age of Pruitt, Trump, Kavanaugh, and Wheeler existing in the same space as the #metoo movement and the Sunrise Movement.  The Paris Agreement was encouraging, yet it feels so long ago now and was a disappointment to many ambitions leading up to it (even if it had been honored by the current administration). Local and sustainable food and energy movements are expanding all around the world, with an eye on gender equality and an eye on indigenous rights, perhaps taken more seriously than ever before.  So on one hand, it is an exciting time to be a social scientist, but on the other hand the future is daunting. This newsletter attempts to offer you all some ways to think about how your activism, teaching, and/or scholarship may make the most of this exciting and daunting time.  How can you collaborate more easily with people to inspire and inform your work?  What are other people doing?  What could they be doing?  What could you?  Take a look at the sessions we will be sponsoring or co-sponsoring this next August at SSSP in New York- you will note that we are prioritizing avenues for you to answer those questions.  The critical dialogues are particularly exciting, I think.  The theme of next year’s meeting will be “Illuminating the SOCIAL in Social Problems”; I am excited at how well it fits with many of your interests.  Beyond that, please enjoy the reflection offered by Yuki Kato and Randall Amster on how relationships can emerge on your campus beyond your department, relationships that inspire and expand what you always hoped you might do.  I think the spirit of what happened for them is just as relevant for our members outside academia.  Thanks to Yuki and Randall for contributing to this newsletter! I want to make a special introduction of our new editor, Alexis Econie!  She is an exceptional young scholar and a first-year doctoral student at University of Wisconsin-Madison.  I was lucky enough to work with her when she was an undergraduate, and her infectious desire for sociology and devout attention to detail will help overcome at least some of the deficiencies in your division chair, I am sure.  I could not ask for a better editor- thank you, Alexis! I look forward to receiving submissions for next year’s annual meeting.  My best wishes for a wonderful fall and winter to you all!  Cheers, Nels INTRODUCTION OF THE NEW GRADUATE EDITOR Alexis Econie, Graduate Editor University of Wisconsin-Madison Alexis Econie is a sociology PhD student at the University of Wisconsin at Madison. Her research combines literatures on environmental justice and labor segmentation to explore economic and health outcomes for the low-wage workers of the green-collar economy. Alexis' prior research has examined the temporary workers of the US recycling industry and conservation values and actions of non-operating agriculture landowners. She has had training in both quantitative and qualitative research methodology, and her current research program employs mixed-methods. At the University of Wisconsin, Alexis is a graduate student of the joint PhD program of Sociology and Community & Environmental Sociology. She works as a Research Assistant for Dr. Jane Collins and studies under the advisement of Dr. Michael Bell. Alexis is a native Midwesterner, a licensed skydiver, and a former AmeriCorps volunteer. She spends the lion's share of her free time taking her rescue pup to local dog parks, traveling, and reading fiction. You can follow Alexis on Twitter: @lexis_eco ILLUMINATING THE SOCIAL IN SOCIAL PROBLEMS Nancy J. Mezey, SSSP President Monmouth University In his book, The Forest and the Trees: Sociology as Life, Practice, and Promise, the late Allan G. Johnson wrote that the most important thing sociology teaches us is that we are always participating in social systems that are larger than ourselves.  Because we are constantly shaping and being shaped by social systems, individualistic models do not work for understanding the social world or for solving social problems.  Indeed, Johnson tells us that if we want to solve social problems, we need to understand, explain, and address what is “social” about those problems.  The theme for the 2019 SSSP meetings is a call for social justice theorists, empiricists, practitioners, activists, policy makers, and analysts, to draw deeply and widely on sociological teachings to illuminate the social in all aspects of social problems.  If our founding scholars were correct, then our ability to illuminate the social in social problems will help solve some of the major social problems of our time. The move away from individualistic models is critical in such an illumination.  Individualist models focus on the characteristics of individuals without looking at the relationships that connect individuals to each other, to groups, or to larger society.  Johnson reminds us that people do not exist outside of systems, and systems cannot function without people.  And yet, “people are not systems, and systems are not people,” but the relationship between the two is critical to understanding the social world and the problems caused by unequal power relationships institutionalized throughout history.  In other words, a forest is not just a bunch of individual trees, but rather “a collection of trees that exist in a particular relation to one another.”  Similarly, society is not simply a collection of unrelated individuals, but rather a collection of people that exist in a particular relation to one another; and those relationships create the very essence of what is “social” in our lives.   So when we illuminate the social in social problems, we are illuminating the patterned, structural, and institutionalized relationships that exist among us and connect us together to create our larger social world. Because of an increasing focus on individualistic models, public discourse lacks a social structural analysis regarding race, class, gender, sexuality, nationality, religion, mass incarceration, and immigration, to name a few. For the 2019 SSSP meetings, I call on our membership to reclaim and refocus that public discourse.  Let us carefully consider the connective spaces between the trees that creates the larger forests; the spaces in which social problems are embedded and perpetuated by unequal power relationships.  Let us push forward our disciplinary roots to explain what is social about social problems, so that what we understand to be obvious becomes obvious to everyone around us and becomes part of popular thought and parlance. As a community of social science and social justice researchers, activists, and practitioners, I invite the SSSP membership to join together during the 2019 meetings in New York City to use our collective sociological imaginations to explore each corner of the social world.  Our exploration should have the explicit and strategic intention of illuminating the social in social problems and applying what we study and practice in pursuit of becoming a more just global society. While in New York City, explore this great urban forest as well.  Go north on the Manhattan island to Harlem and see the birthplace of some of the greatest American culture.   Travel to the southern part of the island and discover how Wall Street got its name.  While there, find out where over 10,000 people of African descent were buried in the 1700s, or visit the areas where immigrants lived in tenement homes and started small businesses.  Take a ferry to Ellis Island or Liberty Island.  Stroll or bike through Central Park, walk the High Line, or visit any number of the green spaces in the City.  Take a subway to Brooklyn to see Judy Chicago’s “The Dinner Party.” Travel to Greenwich Village and check out where a significant part of the modern LGBTQ movement began.  And of course, take in the many shows and good eats that NYC has to offer.  As you wander around, think about how the spaces of the city connect the seemingly separate neighborhoods and histories to create one large and complex city. Just as the possibilities of exploring and connecting the many spaces in NYC are endless, so are the possibilities of exploring and connecting the endless spaces of the social world.  And as NYC becomes a more illuminated city to you as you explore, let us use our expertise in August 2019 to help illumin ate the social in social problems with an intention of informing the rest of the world. 2019 HOTEL RESERVATION INFORMATION The Roosevelt Hotel, New York RESERVATIONS Please call our toll-free Reservations #1-888-833-3969 or the Roosevelt Hotel's direct phone number, 212-661-9600 (ask for the reservation department) to make your reservation. Be sure to request The Society for the Social Problems’ room rate. Reservations can also be made via the SSSP Reservation Link:   https://bit.ly/2xtknxe Kindly note, guestrooms reservation must be guaranteed with a credit card. Check-in is 3:00pm and Check-out is noon. Cancellation policy is 72 hours prior to arrival.  Reservations must be confirmed by Tuesday, July 16, 2019 to guarantee our negotiated group rate.  Reservations received after or if the room block is filled prior to that date, are subject to availability. HOTEL AMENITIES * Fitness and Health Center * 24 Hour Webzone (self serve business center) * Shops & Boutiques * Complimentary Premium Guestroom Wi-Fi * Valet Laundry * Currency Exchange * 100% Smoke-Free Hotel  * Valet Parking in Off-site Garage HOTEL DINING Roosevelt Grill Madison Club Lounge  Vander Bar mad46 Rooftop Lounge ROOM RATES * $229.00 per night, Superior Accommodations - King or Double bedded rooms * $269.00 per night, Triple occupancy * $309.00 per night, Quadruple occupancy * $209.00 per night, limited Cozy Queen rooms (one Queen bed, 1 or 2 persons) (all rates subject to a 14.75% NYC/NYS tax and a $3.50 per room, per night occupancy tax, subject to change). We are excited to offer 1,025 comfortable guest rooms, including 30 suites, equipped with Smart TVs, Complimentary Premium guestroom Wi-Fi, in-room safe, climate control, black out curtains, in-room hairdryers, irons and ironing boards and more Visit New York! Plan your trip at https://www.nycgo.com/ SSSP'S SECTION ON ENVIRONMENT & TECHNOLOGY ANNUAL MEETING SESSIONS The Society for the Study of Social Problems 69th Annual Meeting August 9-11, 2019 Roosevelt Hotel New York City, NY We hope to see you at some of our sessions! [see image] SSSP – ENVIRONMENT & TECHNOLOGY GRADUATE STUDENT PAPER COMPETITION 2019 Brent K. Marshall Paper Award The Environment and Technology Division is pleased to announce its 2019 Brent K. Marshall Graduate Student Paper Award. This award honors the late Brent Marshall’s (1965-2008) personal and professional commitment to the Division and encouragement of student engagement in academic scholarship and research. Papers will be considered in the areas of environmental sociology, including, but not limited to political economy of the environment, global environmental issues, social movements and the environment, technology and society, natural disasters and society, and risk perception. The winner of the Brent K. Marshall Graduate Student Paper Award will receive a plaque, a complimentary SSSP student membership, SSSP conference registration, and a cash award. To be eligible, the paper must meet the following criteria: 1) the paper must have been written in 2018; 2) the paper must be authored by one or more students and not co-authored by faculty or a colleague who is not a student; 3) manuscripts should be limited to fewer than 10,000 words (inclusive of notes, references, and tables) and 4) the paper must not be published or accepted for publication. Founded in 1951, the Society for the Study of Social Problems promotes research on and serious examination of problems of social life. The SSSP works to solve these problems and to develop informed social policy. As a member, you will find peers and colleagues working together to develop and apply research which makes a difference.  SSSP members are an interdisciplinary community of scholars, practitioners, advocates, and students interested in the application of critical, scientific, and humanistic perspectives to the study of vital social problems. If you are involved in scholarship or action in pursuit of a just society nationally or internationally, you belong in the SSSP. You will meet others engaged in research to find the causes and consequences of social problems, as well as others seeking to apply existing scholarship to the formulation of social policies. Many members are social scientists by training. Many teach in colleges and universities. Increasing numbers work in applied research and policy settings. SSSP – Environment and Technology Division Graduate Student Paper Competition Evaluation Instructions & Rubric Papers will be ranked by the following criteria:    Content, Originality, Structure & Organization Importance/Relevance of work to the mission of SSSP and the E&T Division  [See image] CULTIVATING COLLABORATION ACROSS THE DISCIPLINARY DIVIDE Yuki Kato and Randall Amster, Georgetown University Yuki Kato, Associate Teaching Professor, Department of Sociology, Georgetown University Randall Amster, Associate Teaching Professor, Program on Justice and Peace and Environmental Studies Georgetown University How can academics work around the constraining, dominant modern ideal of individualism and self-sufficiency? Having colleagues to collaborate with on research and teaching can be greatly beneficial for a variety of reasons. Combining academic expertise could enhance a research project’s scale and scope, and also expand grant opportunities. Co-teaching or inviting another faculty as a guest speaker in your class could provide opportunities for students to be exposed to new areas of research and a diversity of perspectives. If you are at the same institution, you can learn about resources and opportunities across campus that you may not hear about through your immediate department or program’s network. But finding a collaborative partner could be challenging, especially in smaller departments or programs where we may be “one deep” and faculty expertise doesn’t often overlap. We also get into the routine of staying in one’s “silo” and immediate network, which limits our chances of meeting potential collaborators across campus. Despite these hurdles, our collaboration as educators and researchers developed over the course of a few years after Yuki arrived to Georgetown. After attending the same meetings and being on the same email networks, we began inviting each other as guest speakers for courses and consulting on the development of new courses. Randall invited Yuki to participate in an Environmental Futures Initiative that a group of students started in response to Randall’s Environmental Peacebuilding course. When the students decided to pursue an undergraduate research publication opportunity, he reached out to Yuki again to co-author the headlining article. The jointly authored article became the basis of our presentation at this summer’s SSSP session on Teaching Environmental Justice. Yuki consulted with Randall while planning the community-based learning course, who had already taught a CBL course, and together we pursued internal grants for organizing an Environmental Justice faculty group on campus. We regularly forward each other relevant emails and notices about events, conferences, grants, and other opportunities based on our particular interests and scholarship. Notwithstanding that we are based in different programs and often on divergent schedules, we have found time to collaborate on a range of projects. Our students have benefited from this, and often share positive comments about our guest appearances in classes or continue to refer us to each other. We have appeared as co-panelists on a student-run podcast focusing on environmental challenges.   The key to building such frameworks is actively finding collaborators outside of one’s immediate programs/departments, listening to what students are saying about others who may be teaching similar courses, and developing networks based on mutual interests and opportunities. All too often we are expected to function autonomously, in ways that reify the individualist-competitive paradigm that dominates the larger society and, at times, academia. Part of our work as scholars and educators is to critically engage these realities, which as it turns out may be best done collaboratively -- and in fact, by collaborating at all, we are already modeling another way. But we have to get over the fear of (and impediments to) reaching out to others, and it could start with a low-stakes collaboration to begin building these relationships. Send an email, grab a coffee or two, ask someone to be a guest speaker to your class, and see where these connections may take you across campus. What are your stories of working with others across disciplinary and/or institutional boundaries? Share them widely KEEP UP WITH SSSP ENVIRONMENT & TECHNOLOGY ON SOCIAL MEDIA Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ssspet/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/ETsssp RECENT PUBLICATIONS Amster, Randall. 2018. “Book Review: New Power: How Power Works in Our Hyperconnected World—and How to Make It Work for You,” New York Journal of Books (Sept. 1, 2018). https://www.nyjournalofbooks.com/book-review/new-power-how-power-works     Carlson, Jacob H.  (2018) Model employers and model cities?: Bangalore’s public sector and the rise of the neoliberal city, Urban Geography, 39:5, 726-745, DOI: 10.1080/02723638.2017.1388734 Gould, Kenneth A. and Tammy L. Lewis. 2018. “Green Gentrification and Disaster Capitalism in Barbuda” inNACLA: Report on the Americas, 50 (2): 148-153. Gunderson, Ryan. 2018. "Degrowth and Other Quiescent Futures: Pioneering Proponents of an Idler Society." Journal of Cleaner Production 198:1574-1582. Gunderson, Ryan. 2018. "Explaining Technological Impacts without Determinism: Fred Cottrell's Sociology of Technology and Energy." Energy Research & Social Science 42:127-133.   Gunderson, Ryan. 2018. “Global Environmental Governance Should Be Participatory: Five Problems of Scale.” International Sociology. DOI: 10.1177/0268580918792786. Gunderson, Ryan. 2018. "Work Time Reduction and Economic Democracy as Climate Change Mitigation Strategies: Or Why the Climate Needs a Renewed Labor Movement." Journal of Environmental Studies and Sciences. DOI: 10.1007/s13412-018-0507-4.   Gunderson, Ryan and Thomas Dietz. 2018. “Deliberation and Catastrophic Risks.” Pp. 768-788 inThe Oxford Handbook of Deliberative Democracy, edited by André Bächtiger, John S. Dryzek, Jane Mansbridge, and Mark Warren. New York: Oxford University Press. Gunderson, Ryan, Diana Stuart, and Brian Petersen. 2018. "The Political Economy of Geoengineering as Plan B: Technological Rationality, Moral Hazard, and New Technology." New Political Economy. DOI: 10.1080/13563467.2018.1501356. Gunderson, Ryan, Diana Stuart, Brian Petersen, and Sun-Jin Yun. 2018. "Social Conditions to Better Realize the Environmental Gains of Alternative Energy: Degrowth and Collective Ownership." Futures 99:36-44. Haas, B. M. Berk, K. A., Schmidt-Sane, M. M. Kobin, J. E. & Spilsbury, J.C. 2018. How might neighborhood build environment influence child maltreatment?  Caregiver perceptions. Social Science & Medicine, 214, 171-184. Leslie, Isaac Sohn and Monica M. White. 2018. “Race and Food: Agricultural Resistance in U.S. History.” Pp. 347-64 in Handbook of the Sociology of Racial and Ethnic Relations, edited by Pinar Batur and Joe Feagin. New York: Springer. Lewis, Tammy L. 2018. “Globalizing the treadmill of production: a solutions-oriented application to Ecuador.” Environmental Sociology. https://doi.org/10.1080/23251042.2018.1514942 Seltzer, Nathan & Nobles, Jenna (2017). Post-disaster fertility: Hurricane Katrina and the changing racial composition of New Orleans. Population and Environment, 38(4), 465-490. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11111-017-0273-3.   Stuart, Diana and Ryan Gunderson. 2018. “Nonhuman Animals as Fictitious Commodities: Exploitation and Consequences in Industrial Agriculture.” Society & Animals. DOI:10.1163/15685306-12341507.    van den Scott, Lisa-Jo K. 2018. "Role Transitions in the Field and Reflexivity: From Friend to Researcher." Studies in Qualitative Methodology: (Special Issue) Emotion and the Researcher: Sites, Subjectivities and Relationships 16:19-32. Wishart, Ryan. 2018. “Class Capacities and Climate Politics: Coal and Conflict in the United States Energy Policy-Planning Network.” Energy Research & Social Science48:151–65.