Our Faculty Michael F Maniates
A headshot of smiling Michael F Maniates who has short white hair, is wearing glasses with a black frame, and a bright teal collared shirt.
Michael F Maniates
Social Sciences (Environmental Studies)
Professor
Head of Studies, Environmental Studies

Professor Michael Maniates is Professor of Social Science and the founding Head of Studies of Environmental Studies at Yale-NUS College in Singapore. He holds a BS in Conservation and Resource Studies and an MA and PhD in Energy and Resources, all from the University of California, Berkeley. He was previously Assistant, Associate, and Full Professor of Environmental Science and Political Science at Allegheny College (1993 – 2013), and Senior Visiting Professor of Environmental Studies at Oberlin College (2011 – 2013), both nationally ranked liberal arts colleges in the United States. He joined Yale-NUS College in its inaugural year (2013) to guide the development of its environmental-studies programme. A more complete biography is available at http://michaelmaniates.com

Prof Maniates works on systems of sustainable consumption and production, social innovations for a low-growth world, and the design and implementation of undergraduate programmes in environmental studies. He is at work on a Polity Press book Can Living Green Make a Difference and initiating a research project on higher education and social innovation for a post-growth world.

Prof Maniates is the editor or co-editor of, and a major contributor to four books (Encountering Global Environmental Politics, Confronting Consumption, The Environmental Politics of Sacrifice, and Global Socio-Economic Perspectives). He’s authored several book chapters and more than three dozen conference papers, journal articles, and national op-eds on topics of consumption and overconsumption, effective undergraduate education, and paths to an environmentally sustainable future. His most recent publications include “Higher Education for A Post-Growth World” (in State of the World 2017: EarthEd – Education for a Changing Planet, Island Press, 2017), “Make Way for Hope: A Contrarian View” (in Nicholson and Jinnah’s New Earth Politics, MIT Press, 2016), “Power: The Missing Element in Sustainable Consumption” (Journal of Cleaner Production 2016) with Doris Fuchs et al., “Sustainable Consumption – Three Paradoxes” (Gaia 2014), “Teaching for Turbulence” (in State of the World 2013: Is Sustainability Still Possible?, Island Press 2013), and The Environmental Politics of Sacrifice (edited with John Meyer, MIT Press, 2010). His first foray into the field of sustainable consumption came via Confronting Consumption (eds. Tom Princen, Michael Maniates, and Ken Conca, MIT Press, 2002), recipient of the Sprout Award for the best book in global environmental affairs. One of Maniates’ contributions to the book (“Individualization: Ride a Bike, Plant a Tree, Save the World”), which also appeared in the journal Global Environmental Politics, is among the most cited pieces from the journal. A Google Scholar summary of citations to Prof Maniates’ work is available at http://scholar.google.com/citations?user=KHLQOaoAAAAJ

  • Comparative Social Inquiry
  • Introduction to Environmental Studies
  • Power the Planet: Energy Production, Consumption, and Technology on a Crowded Planet
  • The Theory and Practice of Environmental Policymaking
  • Global Environmental Governance
  • Systems of Sustainable Consumption and Production
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