The  EPT  Working  Group

First proposed in 2001 at the Western Political Science Association (WPSA) annual meetings in Las Vegas, Nevada, the Environmental Political Theory (EPT) group gathers together activists and scholars who are interested in what political theory can contribute to larger policy debates and intellectual discussions about environmental issues. Since 2002, this group has held a daylong workshop in conjunction with Western Political Science Association annual meetings. Participants in the EPT Workshop have created a lively intellectual community, and each workshop features a diverse gathering of university administrators, younger faculty members, senior academics, full-time environmental activists, and graduate students. We come together mostly from all across the U.S. and Canada, but EPT workshops also typically have a number of international participants. The EPT workshops themselves focus upon research agendas, academic pedagogy, public policies, and ethical concerns. Their goals are connecting theory with practice. The number of participants at EPT events have been growing in recent years, and participants consistently are enthusiastic about the significant benefits of developing this important intellectual community.

Since 2004, the Western Political Science Association also has featured several panels in an entire conference section (#23) devoted to "environmental political theory," which EPT members and other colleagues actively organize and attend. We invite new participants to our events, and welcome new contributions to this site of EPT course syllabi, bibliographical materials, listserv discussions, and recent papers.