I direct the Low-Carbon Research Methods Group.
It’s a loosely-affiliated network of scholars interested in examining how climate change not only stands to alter what we study, but how we do so. Our founding hypothesis is that an energy transition for academic research methods—like energy transitions everywhere—offers opportunities to re-examine long-held assumptions and to redistribute benefits and harms. This may not necessarily led to progressive outcomes; it’s easy to imagine a low-carbon future for researchers that is more a product of austerity measures than climate justice. But at the same time, there may be a low-carbon academe worth fighting for—one that is more inclusive, accessible, and innovative in the way knowledge is formed and exchanged, and which doesn’t involve getting on a lot of planes or taking up a lot of server space in a distant data center.
And so, working across different methodological traditions, as well as discursive and nondiscursive forms of inquiry, we’re exploring the social and institutional prospects of decarbonizing academia, as well as the equity and epistemological gains that might be won thereby.
We always welcome new members and we meet remotely. Please contact me if you’re interested in joining, or just dropping in.
