Jennifer Givens

Biography

Research and teaching interests:  environmental sociology; global and comparative sociology; political economy; development and well-being; climate change

I am an environmental and comparative international sociologist. Broadly, I study coupled human and natural systems. My research examines environmental and social sustainability across nation-states, and I study how these relationships change over time. In some of my research I investigate variation in countries’ carbon intensity of well-being, which is a way to measure a country’s progress toward simultaneous environmental and social sustainability by asking how carbon intensely nation-states produce well-being for citizens. This research explores the effects of unequal global integration and militarization, addresses issues of inequality, human well-being, sustainability, and energy use, and explores the connections between development and drivers of climate change. In other research, I explore various forms of environmental concern and action and their causes and consequences, both across and within nations. I am also working on interdisciplinary research on resilience and sustainability in food, energy, and water systems. My research is quantitative, and I employ both longitudinal and multilevel modeling techniques.