PhD Program Ecological Identity and Meaning - PhD Program - Environmental Studies - Antioch University New England

ES PhD: Ecological Identity and Meaning

Ecological identity refers to all the different ways people perceive themselves in relationship to the Earth as manifested in personality, values, action, and sense of self. It includes a person’s connection to the earth, perceptions of the ecosystem, and direct experience of nature. The development of an ecological identity is a process of constructing meaning. We are interested in how observations of natural history and the biosphere influence approaches to citizenship, education, and spirituality.

The key interests of students and faculty:

Biospheric perception and global environmental change
The origins of ecological perception
The dialogue between humans and wild nature
Landscape and language
Existential dimensions of global environmental change
Ecological scale and human perception
Comparative ecological values
Ecological identity development

Faculty with interests in this domain:

Joy Ackerman
Fred Taylor
Mitch Thomashow

Exemplary Student Work:

Lee Ann Woolery