We are a community of graduate students and faculty in the Department of Philosophy at Michigan State University (MSU) who are engaged in research, teaching and outreach in environmental philosophy and ethics.
Our work covers topics such as agricultural ethics, environmental justice, values in environmental sciences, food sovereignty, ecofeminism, environmental education, animal ethics, ecological restoration, climate justice, epistemic integration in environmental sciences, sustainability ethics and environmental pragmatism.
Much of this work is in active dialogue with environmental and agricultural sciences and other humanities disciplines on campus, nationally and internationally.
Faculty actively contribute to institutions such as the National Academy of Sciences, National Advisory Environmental Health Sciences Council, Department of Interior Advisory Committee on Climate Change and Natural Resource Science, National Research Council Advisory Committee on Biotechnology, the Landscape Conservation Cooperative National Council, the Northwest Climate Science Center and the Michigan Environmental Justice Coalition. Graduate student and faculty work has been funded by the National Endowment for the Humanities, National Science Foundation, Bureau of Indian Affairs, Shalom Center for Justice and Peace, Spencer Foundation, Rockefeller Foundation, Sloan Foundation, Kellogg Biological Station, U.S. Department of Agriculture, the Great Lakes Integrated Sciences and Assessments Center, U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service and the Sustainable Michigan Endowed Program.
This community offers the opportunity for advanced study, research and engagement in environmental philosophy and ethics at the doctoral level, for students enrolled both in the Department of Philosophy and other doctoral programs at MSU.
Overview
Opportunities for Study in the Department of Philosophy
Philosophical and ethical thinking and skills can play important roles in our efforts to address many environmental and agricultural issues. The MSU Department of Philosophy offers graduate and undergraduate courses on environmental and agricultural topics. Past graduate courses have included Environmental Justice, Animal Ethics and Sustainability Ethics. Other, regularly offered graduate courses on bioethics, feminist philosophy, and the philosophy of science often provide complimentary topics, issues and frameworks for environmental philosophy and ethics.
Annual undergraduate courses include Environmental Ethics, Ethics and Biotechnology, and Animal Ethics. Faculty and graduate students also pursue grant funded and other collaborative projects that address environmental and agricultural issues. Coursework and participation in such projects are crucial to how we engage in research, teaching and outreach in environmental philosophy and ethics.
Opportunities for Interdisciplinary Studies at MSU
Seminars on environmental and agricultural issues are available in other departments. Units that focus on environmental research and education include Community Sustainability and Crop and Soil Sciences. Other departments have strong groups of faculty interested in environmental issues, including Writing, Rhetoric and American Culture, Sociology, and Anthropology. Our students have the opportunity to expand their curriculum by pursuing graduate specializations in related interdisciplinary fields:
Animal Studies The Graduate Specialization in Animal Studies
Social Science and Humanities Perspectives, which is administered by the Department of Sociology, provides graduate students with basic knowledge of relationships between humans and other animals and how they are linked together in a fragile biosphere.The program includes a doctoral and master’s graduate specialization, cutting-edge research, a monthly seminar series on the MSU campus, and a registered student organization that connects academic initiatives with the local community.