About Me
David Sonnenfeld is Emeritus Professor of Sociology and Environmental Policy, Dept. of Environmental Studies, SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry (ESF), in Syracuse, New York. He is also Research Associate and periodic Guest Professor with the Environmental Policy Group at Wageningen University, in the Netherlands; and Affiliate Faculty, Department of Sociology, Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs, Syracuse University. From 2014-17, he was co-Editor-in-Chief of the journal, Society & Natural Resources, with Peter Leigh Taylor.
David obtained his Ph.D. in Sociology from the University of California, Santa Cruz, in 1996, with an emphasis on Environmental Sociology, the Sociology of Development, and Historical and Field Research Methods. A series of serendipitous events led him to his dissertation topic, a comparative study of social movements' influence on adoption of new, environmental technologies in the pulp and paper industries of Australia, Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand. After completing his degree as an Independent Scholar in the Honors College at the University of Oregon, David explored first-hand some aspects of life which had been unknown to him as a young, fast-tracked scholar. He worked for several years as a laborer/ machine operator, including in Oregon's forest products industry. This experience not only was "expanding", but also gave him valuable insights in later research. Forest policy issues -- logging of "old growth" redwoods -- remained controversial in California as David returned to academic pursuits, providing impetus for forest industry related research. As an Intercampus Exchange Student at the University of California, Berkeley, David was fortunate to link up with a network of scholars studying Indonesian forestry issues, beginning his foray into study of social and environmental transformation in Southeast Asia and beyond. Upon selecting a focus for his doctoral research, David was very successful raising funds to carry it out. Support for his dissertation research was received from the Fulbright Program, the UC Institute on Global Conflict and Cooperation, and the Switzer Foundation Environmental Program. In 1993-94, he was a Visiting Research Fellow at the Centre for Resource and Environmental Studies at the Australian National University, from where he based his field research.
David finds collaborative, multi-disciplinary research rewarding and productive -- all features of the rich, interdisciplinary & collegial culture in Syracuse. He enjoys sharing results and observations from field studies with people around the world. David returned to the University of California at Berkeley as S. V. Ciriacy-Wantrup Visiting Scholar in 1998-2000, working as Research Fellow at the Institute of International Studies and Visiting Professor with UC Berkeley's Energy and Resources Group. David was WIMEK Fellow with the Environmental Policy Group at Wageningen University in 2003-04, and again in 2012. In 2018-19, he was Lady Davis Visiting Professor in the Faculty of Social Sciences, at The Hebrew University of Jerusalem. He continues to work actively with colleagues from around the world. In addition to his international activities, David tries to stay abreast of important social and environmental dynamics closer to home. In New York, this includes social and economic, as well as environmental dimensions, of sustainability, deterioration and 'greening' of social infrastructure, conservation and preservation of the natural environment, transboundary environmental issues, and more.
In his free time, David enjoys walking, hiking, paddling, and gardening, among other pursuits.