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Personal Summary

Born and raised in England, Christopher moved to the United States in the 1990s. He has lived most of those years in the western states where he enjoys mountain biking, skiing, and other activities made possible by the roomy landscapes. 

Education

Ph.D., University of Oregon (1998)

M.A. (applied ethics), Colorado State University (1993)

B.A. University of Durham, UK (1990)

Courses Taught

PHL 505: Issues in the Anthropocene

PHL 504: Topics in Environmental Philosophy

PHL 422: Environmental Philosophy

PHL 112e: Introduction to Ethics and the Environment

Research Interests

My research is moved by the Anthropocene, the epoch in which human influence on the planet is everywhere. I have a passion for wildlife and I study emerging Anthropocene technologies for their impact on the human-nature experience. The technologies include climate engineering, de-extinction, and biotechnology. My award-winning book  details some of what is at stake. My work is now focused on restoration and rewilding, which I see as an antidote to the claustrophobia of a synthetic age. A new book about wildlife recoveries, , will be published by MIT Press in early 2023. The public-facing aspects of environmental philosophy are very important to me. I have written for The Atlantic, Smithsonian Magazine, Slate, Discover, The BBC, The Conversation, and Aeon.

Projects

I have just finished a book for MIT Press titled Tenacious Beasts: Wildlife Recoveries That Change How We Think Ñý¼§Ö±²¥ Animals. It provides hope in the form of some stunning wildlife recoveries. I also offer some answers about how to think differently about animals if these recoveries are going to spread. Publication date is February 2023.

I'm a participant in "ReWrite: New knowledge to navigate the rewriting of human/nature relations through genome editing in the search for sustainable food," a project funded by the Norwegian Research Council that explores the ethics of gene-editing for agriculture.

Selected Publications

Books:

 (MIT Press, February 2023). (New Yorker's 'Best Books of 2023).

 (MIT Press, 2018). (Translated into Chinese, Japanese, German, Spanish, Italian, Turkish).

 (Trinity University Press, 2009).

 (University of Georgia Press, 2003).

Edited Collections:

 (editor) (Rowman and Littlefield International, 2016).

 (editor and contributor) (Lexington Books, 2012).

(co-editor with Wayne Ouderkirk and contributor) (Springer, 2007).

(editor) Special Issue of Ethics and the Environment (2005)

A couple of articles I'm especially fond of:

"," Philosophia (2021): 1-14.

“” in Animals in Our Midst, Eds. Bernice Bovenkerk and Jozef Keulartz (Dordrecht, NL: Springer 2021): pps. 495-509.

"," Hastings Center Report (Issue Supplement S2) 47 (July/August 2017): 37-42.

“,” (co-author with Fern Wickson) Technology in Society 45 (2016): 48-57.

International Experience

Visiting Researcher at the , Finland (Nov 2021).

Faculty exchange and research residency at and in Tromsø, Norway (Feb-April 2015, Nov 2019, Nov 2022). 

Distinguished Visiting Professor in the Ethics of the Anthropocene at the in Amsterdam, the Netherlands (Oct-Jan 2016-17).