Andrew Stuhl is Associate Professor and Chair of Environmental Studies and Sciences at Bucknell University. He teaches environmental history, history of ecology, environmental humanities, environmental activism, Arctic studies, community-based research design, and community-engaged project management.
He has conflicting feelings about writing in third person.
My current research centers on the history and impacts of Tropical Storm Agnes (1972), the worst natural disaster in the United States at the time – and a transformative event for the Central Susquehanna Valley. Motivated by both the obvious material legacies Agnes has left in the region – think high-water marks, commemorative plaques, memorials in downtown public spaces – and the increasing intensity and frequency of rain events in the mid-Atlantic, this project asks “What can we learn from the experiences of Tropical Storm Agnes to prepare for future floods?”
As of May 2022, this research has led to a 60 minute multi-media performance based on collected interviews – and performed by community leaders and Agnes survivors – as well as a series of workshops on story-telling for climate justice. June 2022 marks the 50th anniversary of Agnes, and I look forward to continuing collaborations with colleagues at our regional newspaper, as well as those at FEMA Region 3 and Penn State University’s Institute for Resilient Communities.
In addition to my work in and with the Susquehanna Valley, I have written on issues relating to climate change, environment, history, human rights, and science. My book, Unfreezing the Arctic: Science, Colonialism, and the Transformation of Inuit Lands (University of Chicago Press, 2016) gives a backstory to modern climate change and globalization through an environmental and colonial history of science in the North American Arctic.
In my spare time, I enjoy spending time with loved ones, organizing my community for justice, running, biking, canoeing, playing sports, reading, noodling on the guitar and piano, cooking, and traveling.