.Rebecca.Lave.
Assistant Professor and Director of Undergraduate Studies
701 E. Kirkwood Ave, SB 120
Indiana University
Bloomington, IN 47405
812 855-0940 (office)
812 855-1661 (fax)
rlave at indiana.edu
.research.
My work combines political ecology, science and technology studies, and fluvial geomorphology as part of a new field: critical physical geography. I focus on:
o The contradictory relations among markets, science, and the state embodied in attempts to manage, conserve, and restore the physical landscape, particularly rivers and streams.
o The impacts of neoliberalism on the organization, practice, and content of environmental science.
o The construction of scientific expertise outside the academy in disciplines such as stream restoration, range science, and environmental toxicology.
.teaching.
The courses I teach most often focus on the relationship between nature and society, and usually include serious attention to physical science and political-economic relations.
· G208: Human/Environment Interactions. Just as people shape physical environments through agriculture, development, and resource use, environments shape us. This course focuses on the deeply interconnected ecological, hydrological, climatic, social, cultural, and economic forces at the core of human/environment interactions, and introduces the field of Environmental Geography. (At least once a year, typically fall semester)
· G315: Environmental Conservation. This course focuses on key controversies within the environmental movement. While wildlife preservation, population control, and sustainable development appear to be unambiguous goods, there are powerful arguments both for and against them. Working through those arguments allows a more thoughtful engagement with environmentalism and its impacts on nature and society. (Once a year, typically spring semester)
· G316: Economic Geography: This course asks why the global economy produces persistent inequality between (and within) nations. Readings and class discussions trace the character, history, and geography of capitalism, and its role in colonialism and globalization; the failures and successes of development efforts over the last 50 years; the rise of neoliberalism; and the on-going global financial crisis. (Offered every other year)
· G341: Ecological Restoration. This course provides a broad overview of the deeply interconnected science and politics of stream and wetlands restoration in the United States. Through readings and discussions we will cover topics including the history, philosophy, ecology, geomorphology, and economics of restoration. (Offered every other year.
· G449/549: Political Ecology. This seminar introduces Political Ecology, a field of Anthropology and Geography that focuses on the political-economic context of natural resource conflicts with particular attention to issues of equity, justice, and power. G449/540 covers the theoretical lineage of Political Ecology, its development over the last twenty years, and current hot topics in the field. The course also provides an introduction to reading and using social theory. (Offered every other year)