Stentor Benjamin Danielson
Advanced Technology and Science Hall
Slippery Rock University of Pennsylvania
Slippery Rock, PA 16057
(724) 738-2564
Classes Taught
Spring 2010
World Regional Geography (MWF Syllabus, TR Syllabus)
Environmental Justice (Syllabus)
Past
Discover Geography (Syllabus)
Cultural Geography (Syllabus)
Current Research
Research Interests
Wildfire, pragmatism, environmental decision-making, public participation, environmental ethics and environmental justice, risk and hazards, political ecology, archaeology, feminist geography, Australia
Culture and Wildfire
This project began with my dissertation, "Discourses about Wildfire in New Jersey and New South Wales." This research is a comparative study of the Pine Barrens of New Jersey and the outer suburbs of Sydney, Australia examining how different types of urban-wildland interface residents think about wildfire. It employed Q methodology and a mail survey to test the claims made by the Cultural Theory of risk about the content and origin of perspectives on environmental risks. Funded by a National Science Foundation Dissertation Improvement grant.
Future research will build on the "detachment hypothesis" suggested by my dissertation, asking: Under what conditions do people develop coherent, detailed perspectives about issues, in this case wildfire risks? What are the implications of this detachment for participation in environmental management, either individually (e.g. clearing "defensible space" around one's home) or collectively (e.g. through participation in democratic planning processes)? What are the macro-scale geographic and political-economic factors that lie behind the development of the particular culture of wildfire management that is found in particular places?
Pragmatist Ethics and Decision-making Under Uncertainty
Jane Addams, John Dewey, and other thinkers in the pragmatist tradition developed a compelling theory of social ethics and human culture. This research extends their theories to cast light on environmental management, engaging with two of the prominent theories already established in this field: 1) deliberative democracy, and 2) the precautionary principle.
Other Projects
- A study into how the quality of community involvement efforts and clean-up decisions at Superfund sites can be assessed. (with the Social and Environmental Research Institute, funded by a cooperative agreement with the US EPA)
- A meta-analysis of case studies of vulnerability to environmental hazards (with Colin Polsky, funding pending)
Education
Clark University
2002-2007
PhD in Geography, advisors: Roger Kasperson and Colin Polsky
Colgate University
1998-2002
Bachelor of Arts, double major in Geography and Anthropology
University of Wollongong
2000
Semester abroad
Teaching Experience
Department of Geography, Geology, and the Environment, Slippery Rock University
August 2009-present
Assistant Professor
Classes taught: Cultural Geography (Fall 2009), Discover Geography (Fall 2009)
Pima Community College, Northwest Campus
January 2008-May 2009
Adjunct Professor
Classes taught: Cultural Geography (Syllabus)
Introduction to Weather, Climate, and Landforms (Clark University)
September 2005-December 2005
Teaching Assistant
Duties: Run two two-hour labs, grade assignments, and give guest lectures
Introduction to Geographic Information Systems (Clark University)
August 2002-December 2002
Teaching Assistant
Duties: Run three two-hour GIS labs and grade assignments
Research Experience
Social and Environmental Research Institute
September 2003-October 2007
Research Assistant
Project: A study into how the quality of community involvement efforts and clean-up decisions at Superfund sites can be assessed.
Dayton Society of Natural History
June 2003-August 2003
Wallace Intern
Project: Excavations at Fort Ancient period site in Dayton, OH and reconstruction of village from same era at SunWatch Archaeological Park.
Professor of Geography Susan Hanson
January 2003-May 2003
Research Assistant
Project: Research for Hanson, Susan. 2003. The weight of tradition, the springboard of tradition: Let's move beyond the 1990s. Urban Geography 24 (6): 465-478.
Longyear Museum of Anthropology, Colgate University
June 2001-May 2002
Research Assistant
Project: Inventory verification in preparation for digital photographing of NAGPRA-sensitive items, and assist with week-long Oneida Workshop excavation at contact-era Oneida site.
Assistant Professor of Geography Lisa Benton
December 1999-May 2001
Research Assistant
Project: Background research on World Heritage Sites.
Journalism Experience
Casa Grande Dispatch
October 2007-July 2009
Copy Editor
Duties: Copy editing and page design for daily newspaper.
The Scarlet, Clark University
September 2002-May 2005
Advisory Board
Duties: Writing news and opinion stories, drawing editorial cartoons, copy editing, and layout for weekly newspaper.
National Geographic Society
May 2002-August 2002
Intern, National Geographic News
Duties: Reporting on current science and nature news.
The Colgate Maroon-News
August 1998-May 2002
Commentary Editor and Managing Editor
Duties: Writing news and opinion stories, drawing editorial cartoons, copy editing, and layout for weekly newspaper.
Peer Reviewed Publications
Danielson, S. sumbitted. A Limit of the Precautionary Principle: Protecting Australian Biodiversity Through Fire Management. (PDF Available)
Danielson, S. sumbitted. Is Cultural Theory useful? A pragmatist application to wildfire risk. (PDF Available)
Danielson, S. submitted. Who wants to participate? Public views of wildfire management in the New Jersey Pine Barrens. (PDF Available)
Danielson, S. submitted. How the public thinks about bushfires in the Sydney suburbs. (PDF Available)
Danielson, S. 2009. Q Method and Surveys: Three Ways To Combine Q and R. Field Methods 21 (3): 219-237.
Danielson, S. 2009. Recognizing Common Ground: A Reply to Steven R. Brown. Field Methods 21 (3): 242-243.
Danielson, S., T. Webler, and S. P. Tuler. 2010. Using Q Method for the Formative Evaluation of Public Participation Processes. Society and Natural Resources 23 (1): 92-96.
Danielson, S., S. L. Santos, T. Webler, and S. P. Tuler. 2008. Building and breaking a bridge of trust in a Superfund site remediation. International Journal of Global Environmental Issues, 8 (1/2): 45-60. (PDF Available)
Presentations
"Public Viewpoints on Fire Management in New Jersey and New South Wales." Presented at the Human Dimensions of Wildland Fire Conference, 23 October 2007, Fort Collins, CO. (PowerPoint)
"A New Cultural Theory of Discourses About Fire in New Jersey and New South Wales." Dissertation Defense presentation, 6 September 2007, Worcester, MA. (PowerPoint)
"Discourses About Fire in New Jersey and New South Wales." Presented at the 3rd International Fire Ecology Congress, 14 November 2006, San Diego, CA. (PowerPoint)
"What Do People Think About Bushfires?" Seminar at the University of Wollongong, 2 August 2006, Wollongong, NSW. (PowerPoint)
"Discourses About Fire in New Jersey and New South Wales." Presented at the Bushfire 2006 conference, 7 June 2006, Brisbane QLD. (Consisted of the preliminary Q method results from my larger project of the same name.)
"Tools for Evaluating Community Involvement at Superfund Sites: A Comparative Analysis." Presented at the 25th Meeting of the Society for Risk Analysis, 6 December 2005, Orlando FL. (poster in .ppt format)
"Social Capital as a Double-Edged Sword: Trust and Distrust at a Superfund Site." Presented at the 101st Meeting of the Association of American Geographers, 9 April 2005, Denver CO.
"Geographic Ideas In Goddess Mythology." Presented at the Centennial Meeting of the Association of American Geographers, 15 March 2004, Philadelphia PA.
Non-Peer Reviewed Publications
Tuler, S., C. Chess, S. Santos, S. Danielson, and T. Webler. 2008. Selecting the right tool for evaluations: Guidance for community involvement practitioners. EPA Network News, Winter 2008. (document in .pdf format)
Webler, Thomas, Stentor Danielson, and Seth P. Tuler. 2007. Guidance on the use of Q method for evaluation of public involevment programs at contaminated sites. Greenfield, MA: Social and Environmental Research Institute. (document in .pdf format)
Webler, Thomas, Stentor Danielson, and Seth P. Tuler. 2008. An academic primer on Q method. Greenfield, MA: Social and Environmental Research Institute. (document in .pdf format)
Santos, Susan L., Stentor Danielson, and Caron Chess. 2007. Guidance on the use of focus groups for evaluation of public involvement programs at contaminated sites. Greenfield, MA: Social and Environmental Research Institute. (document in .pdf format)
Bush vs. Schwarzenegger: Political Economic Re-regulation and the 2003 Southern California Wildfires (document in .pdf format) (2003)
Ideology and Environmental Degradation in the Aral Sea Basin (High Honors Thesis in Geography) (document in .pdf format) (2002)
Oneida-Archaeologist Relations: A Utilitarian Perspective On Cooperation Between American Indians And Archaeologists (Honors Thesis in Sociology and Anthropology) (document in .pdf format) (2002)
Environmental Justice at the Palmerton Zinc Superfund Site, Palmerton PA (document in .pdf format) (2001)
Numerous opinion columns and news stories in The Colgate Maroon-News, National Geographic News, and The Scarlet.
Frequent entries on debitage, a weblog about politics and environmental issues.