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By Susan Feinberg
Sherry Johnson, associate professor in the Department of History, was recently honored with a fellowship at the Rachel Carson Center for Environmental Studies in Munich, Germany. Johnson is researching historical climate change in the 18th century, examining how weather events caused a shift in political and economic patterns in the Hispanic Caribbean region between 1750 and 1804.
The Rachel Carson Center, a joint initiative of Ludwig-Maximilians-University Munich and the Deutsches Museum, brings together about a dozen leading academics from around the world who work on the complex relationship between nature and culture across disciplines. Named after the worldwide recognized American scientist and nature writer Rachel Carson, the goal of the Center is to further research and discussion in the field of international environmental studies and to strengthen the role of the humanities in the current political and scientific debates about the environment.
Johnson’s research aims to learn about the past and gain knowledge and insight into how to cope with potential problems, such as climate change, in the future. “My research, combined with cutting edge science about past climate cycles, can teach us how institutions and people responded to crises caused by temperature fluctuations,” she said. “By studying historic processes, contemporary policy makers can hopefully replicate the good decisions while avoiding the mistakes of the past.”
Johnson’s stint at the Rachel Carson Center will promote FIU’s commitment to environmental, disaster and sustainability issues with a global framework; raise the profile of the Department of History; and train subsequent generations of scholars.
“Since my approach is multidisciplinary, I can envision collaborative projects with my colleagues from many disciplines which will translate into coursework, research seminars and publications originating from the FIU community, professors and students alike,” Johnson said.
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