Social Ecology and Responsible Environmental Discourse in the Anthropocene

Meaningful, effective and long term resolutions to contemporary conflicts in conservation require democratic processes and good-faith, transparent involvement from a diversity of stakeholders. How are such resolutions achieved? How can we as humans realize our place in the world with respect to other humans and the non-human natural environment? In this talk, Sam will introduce social ecology, a philosophical theory authored by Murray Bookchin, which emphasizes a symbiotic link between social and ecological issues. He will explore its ideological roots, dating back to debates between Karl Marx and Mikhail Bakunin during the First International, as well as its use as a framework for thinking through wicked problems in modern environmental studies. Finally, he will speak about his experience and positionality as a science communicator and his ethnographic work with the Pacific Spirit Park Society in his role as a Master’s student in Science and Technology Studies at UBC.

Sam Bundenthal is a social ecologist, science communicator, and graduate student in Science and Technology Studies at the University of British Columbia. He previously earned a Bachelor of Arts in Environmental Studies and Rhetoric and Media Studies from Lewis & Clark College in 2019. He’s worked as a teaching apprentice in English and English and a Second Language at Solano Community College in Fairfield, California, and is currently a Writing Consultant with the Centre for Writing and Scholarly Communication at UBC. He spends his weekends volunteering with the Pacific Spirit Park Society, working to restore the native ecosystem, and lead educational programs for schools, community members, and the BC Mobility Opportunity Services. His scholarship is very interdisciplinary, and concerned with conservation conflict management, citizen science, environmental education, and eco-socialization.