Contact
Room:
229
Email:
ben.schmidt@lmu.de
Before joining the RCC's ‘Environment and Society’ Doctoral Program in 2024, Benjamin S. Godwin Schmidt earned an MA in the Study of Religion and Culture at Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität Munich (LMU). His thesis depicted the anthropogenic environmental apocalypse as a grand narrative of the contemporary environmental movement. For this project, he drew on the experience and knowledge he gained during the three semesters he spent studying Sustainable & International Development at Utrecht University. He also holds a Joint Honours BA in Economics and Geography from the University of Leeds.
The interdisciplinary inclination exhibited across his studies is also reflected in his research interests, which pertain to the relationship between humans and their environment and how this has evolved over time. Science and technology have and continue to play a central role here. While the former bestowed the image of the Earth's biosphere as a measurable and quantifiable entity, the latter seemingly provided humans with the tools to attain control and mastery over it. How have these conceptions shaped our culture and our society? What do concepts such as the Anthropocene say about our perception of the power-dynamic between humanity and nature? And, finally, how will the escalating climate crisis's shattering of these illusions of control affect humanity's understanding of its place in the world?