Damon M. Hall Ph.D.

University of Maine-Orono
5710 Norman Smith Hall, Orono, ME 04469

 

Research Interests
My research is driven by interrogating the relations between humans and natural systems. I believe that managing natural resources landscapes is 90% about managing people. Communication thus becomes both a tool for practice and a site for theory. My research philosophy is rooted in a systems approach to problem solving and conflict management because of the co-dependence of socio-cultural and natural systems. Methodologically, I focus on problems. Seeing no silver bullets available for resolving environmental conflict and conservation needs, I prefer to examine empirical human discourses, social practices, law, and the politics of places. I use theory to inform on-the-ground practice and interrogate those practices with the intention of accurately accessing the current problematic situation so as to improve it.

Statement

"Sustainability science is a re-telling of the story of science. Science-as-usual—as a social and cultural practice of knowledge production—shares responsibility for society’s unsustainable products, logics, and habits. Science redeems itself by becoming more responsive to these everyday problems; focusing its efforts to improve the mutual flourishing of ecological, economic, and socio-cultural functioning.

Sustainability science is problem-focused. It values knowledge produced according to its contribution to solutions. As a sustainability science researcher, you do not always get to research what you want. Instead, your disciplinary research program is modified by the demands of the problem and the setting. The complexities of social-ecological systems require a diversity of lenses to assess and address problems. As such, sustainability science necessitates high-functioning interdisciplinary teams.

Sustainability science is audience-focused. Researchers must ensure social actors can use the knowledge created. It also requires careful attention to how every research practice—as an intervention in a site—affects social and ecological functioning. Thus, research design requires collaborating with communities, listening to local expertise, building and maintaining interpersonal relationships.

To achieve the common goal of sustainability, Science, the scientist, and the university must be committed to adapting long-held organizational cultural practices, norms, and reward structures towards a more common-sense approach to solving problems."

Education
Ph.D. (Wildlife & Fisheries Sciences), 2010, Texas A&M University
M.A. (Communication), 2004, Purdue University
B.S. (Agriculture-Natural Resources), 2002, Purdue University

Publications & Technical Reports

• Hall, D. M., S. Gilbertz, C. Horton, and T. R. Peterson. 2011. Integrating divergent representations of place into decision contexts. In: Stewart, W., D. Williams, and L. Kruger (Eds.). Connecting place to practice: Concepts and techniques to improve land-use planning. Corvallis, OR: Oregon State University Press.
• Fischlein, M., J. Larson, D. M. Hall, R. Chaudhry, T. R. Peterson, J. C. Stephens , and E. J. Wilson. 2010. Policy stakeholders and deployment of wind power in the sub-national context: A comparison of four U.S. states. Energy Policy, 38(8):4429–4439
• Peterson, M. J. D. M. Hall, A. M. Feldpausch, and T. R. Peterson. 2010. Obscuring ecosystem function with application of the ecosystem services concept. Conservation Biology, 24(1):113–119.
• Hall, D. M., L. Bernacchi, T. O. Milstein, and T. R. Peterson. 2009. Gather Your Friends and Take a Picture: Encountering Global Climate Change. In: Endres, D., L. Sprain, and T. R. Peterson. Social Movement to Address Climate Change: Local Steps for Global Action. Amherst, NY: Cambria Press, pp. 53–79.
• Swannack, T. M., D. M. Hall, and W. E. Grant. 2009. National Park Service Socioeconomic Conceptual Modeling Workshop. National Park Service Social Science Program.
• Wood, R., Hall, D. M., and Hasain Jr., M. 2008.  Globalization, social justice movements, and the human genome diversity debates.  In: M. Dutta-Bergman and H. Zoller. Emerging Perspectives in Health Communication: Meaning, Culture, and Power. London: Routledge, pp. 431–446. 
• Gilbertz, S., C. C. Horton, C. and D. M. Hall. 2007.  Yellowstone River Cultural Inventory. United States Corps of Engineers and the Greater Yellowstone River Conservation District Council. 787 pages.  Available online.
• Hall, D. M. 2006. Common sense fieldwork on the Yellowstone River. Rocky Mountain Communication Review, 3(1).

 

To achieve the common goal of sustainability, Science, the scientist, and the university must be committed to adapting long-held organizational cultural practices, norms, and reward structures towards a more common-sense approach to solving problems.

-D. Hall