Faculty Profile
Michael Beevers
Associate Professor of Environmental Studies (2011)
Contact Information
Kaufman Hall Room 106
717-254-8036
Bio
Dr. Beevers specializes in global environmental politics with an emphasis on the linkages between natural resources, security, conflict and peace. His work appears in numerous book chapters and journals including Global Governance, International Peacekeeping, African Conflict and Peacebuilding Review and The Extractive Industries and Society, among others. His book, Natural Resource Governance and Peacebuilding in the Aftermath of Armed Conflict: Sierra Leone and Liberia (Palgrave-MacMillan) was published in 2018. He has worked as a research associate at Princeton University and as a consultant for the United Nations Environment Programme and World Resources Institute. He was also a Peace Corps volunteer in Niger.
Education
- B.S., Western Illinois University, 1993
- M.S., M.P.A., University of Washington, 2004
- Ph.D., University of Maryland, 2011
2024-2025 Academic Year
Fall 2024
ENST 161 Environmental Connections
This introductory environmental studies course draws from the influences of the humanities and natural sciences on the social sciences in relation to the environment. The course will examine the ideas, concepts, and debates central to the field. Students will examine the relationship between humans and the environment and become familiar with a range of environmental challenges, with an emphasis on how these challenges have emerged over time and space. The course will investigate and evaluate a variety of strategies that are currently being pursued to address these environmental challenges. The course stresses the importance of “seeing connections”, thinking carefully and critically about environmental issues, and appreciating that complex questions rarely have a single solution. This is an introductory course for those majoring in environmental studies and environmental science. Non-majors should enroll in ENST 121 Introduction to Environmental Science. This course has no laboratory section.
ENST 550 Localizing Climate Justice: Po
Spring 2025
ENST 374 Politics of Climate Change
Climate change is arguably the most significant challenge of the 21st century. Scientists predict it will drastically reshape weather patterns, increase the intensity of storm events, raise sea levels and change agricultural output -- among many, many other things. Indeed, reducing greenhouse gas emissions and adapting to a changing climate are absolutely essential to reduce these impacts. However, climate change is not simply a matter of science. It will be the defining political issue of our times because climate change will require transforming how we live, what we care about, how resources are allocated and how power is manifest (and by whom). This class will analyze the political dimensions of climate change (mitigation and adaptation) at the domestic and international levels. Prerequisites: ENST 161 and 162.