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Professor of Sociology and Associate Dean for Research & Graduate Affairs, College of Liberal Arts, Colorado State University

Dr. Carolan is a Professor of Sociology and Associate Dean of Research and Graduate Affairs for the College of Liberal Arts. He has published over 150 peer review articles and chapters. His areas of expertise include environmental and agricultural law and policy, environmental sociology, the sociology of food systems and agriculture, and the sociology of technology and scientific knowledge. He also dabbles in social theory. He recently published the following books: A Sociological Look at Biofuels: Understanding the Past/Prospects for the Future (2010); Decentering Biotechnology: Assemblages Built and Assemblages Masked (2010); Embodied Food Politics (2011); The Real Cost of Cheap Food (2011 [second edition available spring 2018!]); The Sociology of Food and Agriculture (2012 1st ed/2016 2nd ed); Society and the Environment: Pragmatic Solutions to Ecological Issues (2013 1st ed/2016 2nd ed); Reclaiming Food Security (2013); Cheaponomics: The High Cost of Low Prices (2014); Food Utopias: Reimagining Citizenship, Ethics and Community (2015 with Paul Stock and Chris Rosin); Biological Economies: Experimentation and the Politics of Agrifood Frontiers (2016; with Richard LeHeron, Hugh Campbell, and Nick Lewis); and No One Eats Alone: Food as Social Enterprise (2017). He has the following book under contract: Fare Share: Food in the Collaborative Economy (early 2018, expected). Dr. Carolan is also Co-Editor for the Journal of Rural Studies (Impact Factor of 2.444) and Associate Editor for the journals Society and Natural Resources (Impact Factor of 2.72) and Sustainability (Impact Factor 1.79).

Additionally, Dr. Carolan regularly writes pieces for public audiences, as he works to bridge the town-gown divide. His pieces appear in such outlets as The Conversation, Bloomberg, Mental Floss, the San Francisco Chronicle, Popular Science, The Smithsonian Magazine, Salon, The Independent, Market Watch, Scroll.in, and the New Food Economy. He also routinely makes radio appearances around the country and has been featured on the popular CBC (Canadian Broadcasting Cooperation) program Ideas.

Experience

  • –present
    Professor of Sociology and Associate Dean for Research, College of Liberal Arts, Colorado State University