Seminars and Colloquia
Humanities and Social Sciences
Environmental Social Science: Introducing an Interdisciplinary Approach to the Study of the Humanities and Social Sciences
Mon, May 15, 2017,
12:00 PM
at Seminar Room 24, Main Building
Dr Pradipta Halder
School of Applied Educational Science and Teacher Education, University of Eastern Finland, Joensuu, Finland
About the Speaker:
Dr. Pradipta Halder is a researcher at the University of Eastern Finland in Joensuu affiliated with the School of Applied Educational Science and Teacher Education. He was previously affiliated with the School of Forest Sciences at the same university. His primary area of research expertise is environmental social science dealing with issues concerning energy, environment and climate change. He is currently working on developing inquiry-based science education in Finnish schools. His research interests also include constructing predictive models of environmental behaviours and analyzing social sustainability in forest-based bioeconomy. He has 10 years of experience in research and is the author of over 40 peer-reviewed scientific publications, conference papers and technical reports. He received a doctoral degree in 2011 and a double master degree in European Forestry in 2007. He also completed a master degree in forest management from India in 2003. During his postdoctoral research, he received a highly competitive three-year funding from the Finland-based Kone Foundation. He was a visiting scholar at the Fudan Tyndall Centre for Climate Change Research affiliated with the Fudan University in China. He has taught master and doctoral students in Finland, Croatia and China. He was key member in a number of international projects on bioenergy and forestry in Europe and India. Dr. Halder is currently acting as an editorial advisory board member in international journals such as Biofuels and Energy.
Abstract:
Environmental Social Science (ESS) is an interdisciplinary field of research focusing on the social dynamics that are the characteristics of the human-environment interactions. ESS research and teaching can be highly pertinent to any Department of Humanities and Social Sciences (HSS) as it aims to expand its research perspectives by bringing new intellectual diversity. To this direction, my research has contributed to the understanding of societal perspectives of renewable energy, forestry and climate change in various countries including India. In an Indian context, my studies on environmental behaviours, science education, and community perspectives of climate change have been among the early contributors that have generated policy relevant information and created a base for future studies. Among others, my work on the Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB) in explaining pro-environmental intentions was the first study to use the TPB model in a cross-cultural context. The main relevance of my research can be judged within the concept of social-sustainability that is gaining prominence in the environment and economic development related discussions. Therefore, my research can bring both national and international insights to the ESS studies and teaching that can help students acquire necessary knowledge and skills to conduct socially and policy relevant studies in energy, environment and climate change in India.
