A Short Biography

I come to Science and Technology Studies from graduate training in international relations, comparative politics, and political sociology. I wrote a dissertation, now nearing completion as a significantly expanded and revised book manuscript, about the West German anti-nuclear weapons movement of the 1980s. The product of extensive primary research, Why Movements Matter: The West German Peace Movement, the SPD, and the INF Negotiations advances social movement theory and the political sociology of peace movements, furthers our understanding of the interactions of political parties and political movements, explores the links between public opinion and organized dissent, and assesses the impact and legacy of a movement that shook the halls of power from Washington to Moscow. The book is situated in the larger research context of the political and social means available to citizens to intervene in scientific and technological controversies. I'm especially interested in peace and ecology movements as they appear viable vehicles for grassroots democracy and citizen participation in science, technology, and environmental policymaking.

I'm also interested in the scope and nature of the knowledge wielded by social movements; an examination of environmentalists' knowledge will probably be my next book. My initial investigations of ecology movement knowledge found it to be complex and bifurcated, some dynamic blend of science and indigenous knowledge. I intend to press forward with further examinations of both components separately and together. For example, I'm trying to secure funding for a cross-national study of conservation biology as the scientific subfield most prone to political action on the basis of its essential outlook and method. Viewing "scientists as environmentalists" promises to shed light on important questions about objectivity, the values underlying environmental science, and the role of science in society.

Another ongoing interest are the postmaterialist political manifestations of value change and activists' experiences including Green parties and radical environmental organizations and philosophies. I plan on investigating the promise of social movement theory for STS in a project to first bear fruit at the 4S meeting in October 1996. I'm trying too to merge my interests in curriculum and infrastructure greening with my research agenda. By no means an easy undertaking, my recent paper on teaching "One Mile of the Hudson River" is a start. I've supervised three senior projects and several URPs on campus greening and participated in the "Greening the Campus" conference in April 1996.

Finally, I have an abiding interest in questions regarding sustainable development, appropriate technology, global environmental politics (regimes, treaties, law, international conferences), environmental security, and globalization-from-below.

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