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Rachael Shwom, Ph.D.
Professor
Chair
Human Dimensions of Environmental Change Graduate Certificate Director
Cook Office Building, Room 212
848-932-9235
shwomrac@sebs.rutgers.edu
Biography
Rachael Shwom is a sociologist who is interested how different groups of people in society make sense of and respond to energy and climate change problems. She understand these processes as not just technological or economic processes, but inherently social and political processes. She is particularly focused on the role of civil society, such as environmental groups and the public in general and their role in perceiving and acting to remedy climate change. She has studied public opinion on climate change, non-profits decisions to partner with business to address energy issues, household energy consumption, long term risk governance, and risk communication. She uses both quantitative and qualitative methods to study these issues including surveys, social network analysis, and semi-structured interviews. She teaches undergraduate courses in Energy and Society, Innovative Solutions to Environmental Problems, and Environmental Politics and graduate courses in Human Dimensions of Environmental Change, Organizations in the Environmental Movement, and Long Term Risk Assessment and Governance. For more information see shwomrac.tumblr.com.