Dana R. Fisher, author of Saving Ourselves, in conversation with Nathaniel Stinnett

When:
Wednesday, Apr 24, 2024 7:00p -
8:00p

Where:
Porter Square Books
25 White St.
Cambridge, Massachusetts 02140

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Admission:
FREE

Hosted by:
...
psb_events Porter Square Books

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Event website:
https://www.portersquarebooks.com/event/dana-r-fisher-author-saving-ourselves-conversation-nathaniel-stinnett

Porter Square Books is thrilled to welcome Dana R. Fisher for her book Saving Ourselves: From Climate Shocks to Climate Action! Nathaniel Stinnett will join Fisher in conversation. This event will take place on Wednesday, April 24 at 7pm at Porter Square Books (25 White St. Cambridge, MA 02140).


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ABOUT SAVING OURSELVES


We've known for decades that climate change is an existential crisis. For just as long, we've seen the complete failure of our institutions to rise to the challenge. Governments have struggled to meet even modest goals. Fossil fuel interests maintain a stranglehold on political and economic power. Even though we have seen growing concern from everyday people, civil society has succeeded only in pressuring decision makers to adopt watered-down policies. All the while, the climate crisis worsens. Is there any hope of achieving the systemic change we need?


Dana R. Fisher argues that there is a realistic path forward for climate action--but only through mass mobilization that responds to the growing severity and frequency of disastrous events. She assesses the current state of affairs and shows why public policy and private-sector efforts have been ineffective. Spurred by this lack of progress, climate activism has become increasingly confrontational. Fisher examines the radical flank of the climate movement: its emergence and growth, its use of direct action, and how it might evolve as the climate crisis worsens. She considers when and how activism is most successful, identifying the importance of creating community, capitalizing on shocking moments, and cultivating resilience. Clear-eyed yet optimistic, Saving Ourselves offers timely insights on how social movements can take power back from deeply entrenched interests and open windows of opportunity for transformative climate action.


ABOUT THE AUTHORS

Dana R. Fisher is the Director of the Center for Environment, Community, & Equity and Professor in the School of International Service at American University. She currently serves as the President of the Eastern Sociological Society, a Nonresident Senior Fellow in the Governance Program at the Brookings Institution, and the chair-elect of the Political Sociology Section of the American Sociological Association.


Professor Fisher’s research focuses on questions related to democracy, civic engagement, activism, and climate politics. Current projects include studying political elites’ responses to climate change, how federal service corps programs in the US integrate climate into their work, and on-ramps to activism and engagement around climate and systemic racism. Her research employs a mixed-methods approach that integrates data collected through open-ended semi-structured interviews and participant observation with various forms of survey data.


Professor Fisher has authored over 75 peer-reviewed articles and book chapters and has written six books. Her seventh book, Saving Ourselves: From Climate Shocks to Climate Action, will be out with Columbia University Press in early 2024. For information on her last book, American Resistance (Columbia University Press 2019), including links to reviews, appearances, and media coverage, go to the American Resistance Book Site. Fisher also serves on the editorial boards of the journals Climate Action, Climate Policy, and Mobilization and as a Series Editor for the Series on Society and the Environment at Columbia University Press along with Evan Schofer.


Professor Fisher has appeared on ABC, CNN, MSNBC, and PBS Newshour to discuss her work. Her words have appeared in the popular media, including in the Washington Post, The Nation, Slate, TIME Magazine, Politico, Business Insider, and the American Prospect. In winter 2021, she was called “One of America’s Most Prescient Political Thinkers” in a piece on the Changing Politics of Climate Change for PBS. Her research has been featured in media outlets such as the Washington Post, The New York Times, Science Magazine, Vox, various programs on National Public Radio, the BBC, the CBC, and on numerous podcasts. A list of selected media coverage with links is available under media.

Professor Fisher has presented her work to the US National Academies of Science, Engineering, and Medicine, federal agencies, foundations, presidential campaigns, and other political organizations. She served as a Contributing Author for Working Group 3 of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s Sixth Assessment Review (IPCC AR6), writing about citizen engagement and civic activism.


Fisher received her Ph.D. and Master of Science degrees from the Department of Sociology at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Her undergraduate degree is in East Asian Studies and Environmental Studies from Princeton University.

 

Nathaniel Stinnett founded the Environmental Voter Project in 2015 after over a decade of experience as a senior advisor, consultant, and trainer for political campaigns and issue-advocacy nonprofits. Hailed as a "visionary" by The New York Times, and dubbed "The Voting Guru" by Grist magazine, Stinnett is a frequent expert speaker on cutting-edge campaign techniques and the behavioral science behind getting people to vote. He has held a variety of senior leadership and campaign manager positions on U.S. Senate, Congressional, state, and mayoral campaigns, and he sits on the Board of Advisors for MIT’s Environmental Solutions Initiative. Formerly an attorney at the international law firm DLA Piper LLP, Stinnett holds a B.A. from Yale University and a J.D. from Boston College Law School. He lives in Boston, MA with his wife and two children.

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