Jesse Peterson

I am fascinated by the innummerable ways by which people respond to environmental changes, whether these changes be conceptual (e.g. thinking the Earth as round and no longer flat) or material (e.g. the extinction of the dodo). Though such changes may seem to not have anything to do with society or people, the very involvement of human thought, imagination, and activity makes all our concerns about "nature"  or the "environment" both social and cultural, and therefore, in need of qualitative and humanistic analysis and innovation. 

The complexity and nuance implicit within human and non-human relationships implies the necessity for inter- and trans- disciplinary research approaches. I try to use whatever theories or methods that seem best for answering research questions as, in the words of geographer Michael J. Dear , form a "deliberate, creative methodological pluralism." Following this principle has led me to publish in different scholarly disciplines, such as geography, ecocriticism, and communication and media studies.

Finally, since knowledge exists in many forms. I remain committed to communicating and sharing research results in traditional publication formats but also in different ways and through different registers through experimentation with artistic methods.

I have been a course leader or teaching assistant in over 20 courses in environmental history, research methodologies, gender and technology, literature, creative writing, rhetoric, and technical writing. 

PhD, History of Science, Technology, and Environment, KTH Royal Institute of Technology

MSc, Environmental Humanities, University of Utah

MFA, Poetry and Translation, University of Nevada - Las Vegas

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