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Andrew J. Scerri

Andrew J. Scerri, Associate Professor and Director of Graduate Studies

Andrew J. Scerri, Associate Professor and Director of Graduate Studies
Andrew J. Scerri, Associate Professor and Director of Graduate Studies

Department of Political Science
515 Major Williams Hall (0130)
220 Stanger Street
Blacksburg, VA 24061
540-231-8843 | ajscerri@vt.edu

Andy Scerri is an associate professor and director of graduate studies in the Department of Political Science. He was formerly Research Fellow in the Global Cities Research Institute at the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology, where he was awarded the PhD in International Studies in 2007. His research interests sit at the intersection of environmental political theory and policy studies, and focus on the relationship between economic redistribution and awareness of climate change in the postindustrial liberal-democracies since the 1970s. He is author of two books, Greening Citizenship (2012) and Postpolitics and the Limits of Nature (2019), and articles in journals including Environmental Politics, Environmental Values, Critical Review of International Social and Political Philosophy, Appalachian Studies, and Citizenship Studies. He is currently working on a book project designed to bring environmental considerations to bear debates over democratic republican calls for a sortition-based third chamber or citizens’ house of review.   

  • Environmental Political Theory
  • Urban Sustainable Development Policy
  • Citizenship Studies
  • Ecological Economics
  • Social Movement Studies (environmentalism)
  • PhD, International Studies, Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology, 2007
  • BA, Social Science (Honours), University of Technology, Sydney, 2002
  • Teaching Certificate, 2014, Center for Instructional Development and Educational Research, Virginia Tech
  • Director of Graduate Studies, Department of Political Science, Virginia Tech
  • American Political Science Association
  • American Society for Political and Legal Philosophy
  • Western Political Science Association
  • Association for Political Theory
  • European Consortium for Political Research
  • Incentive Grant, College of Liberal Arts and Human Sciences, Virginia Tech, Spring 2021
  • Deutscher Akademischer Austauschdienst / Research Stays for University Academics and Scientists Programme Visiting Professor, Summer 2019
  • Dean’s Faculty Fellowship 2015-6, College of Liberal Arts and Human Sciences, Virginia Tech
  • Teacher of the week, 10 Nov. 2014, Center for Instructional Design and Educational Research, Virginia Tech
  • Best Paper of 2012 Award: Magee, L., Scerri, A., & James, P. (2012) ‘Measuring Community Sustainability: A Community-Centric Approach’, Applied Research in Quality of Life 7(3): 239-61, for papers published in Applied Research in Quality of Life
  • Honorable Mention, Peter Hay Award for Best Paper on an Environmental Theme 2011, Australian Political Science Association Conference, 24-26 Sept. 2011, ANU Canberra
  • Emerging Researcher Grant Award 2009, Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology Office of Research & Innovation
  • Australian Postgraduate Award 2003, Doctoral Degree Research Scholarship, Australian Federal Government

Books

Scerri, A. (2019) Postpolitics and the Limits of Nature: Critical Theory, Moral Authority and Radicalism in the Anthropocene, Albany: SUNY Press, ISBN (hardcover) 978-1-4384-7213-3; (paperback) 978-1-4384-7214-0.

James, P., with Magee, L., Scerri, A. & Steger, M. (2014) Urban Sustainability in Theory and Practice: Circles of Sustainability, London: Routledge, ISBN 978-1-138-02573-1.

Scerri, A. (2012) Greening citizenship: Sustainable development, the state and ideology, New York: Palgrave Macmillan, ISBN: 978-1-1370-1030-8.

Journal Articles

Scerri, A. (2019, in press) ‘Moralizing About Politics: The White Working-Class “Problem” in Appalachia and Beyond’, Appalachian Studies, accepted May 5, 2018.

Scerri, A. (2019, online first) ‘Review article: Forget populism?’, Critical Review of International Social and Political Philosophy, published Aug. 20, https://doi.org/10.1080/13698230.2019.1654220

Scerri, A. (2016) ‘Deep Ecology, the holistic critique of Enlightenment dualism and the irony of history’, Environmental Values 25(5): 527-551.

Scerri, A. & Lam, C. (2015) ‘From neoliberalism to neocommunitarianism: Opposing justifications in a dispute over privatized electricity infrastructure’, Space and Polity, 19(2): 132-49.

Holden, M. & Scerri, A. (2015) ‘Justification, compromise and test: Developing a pragmatic sociology of critique to understand the outcomes of urban redevelopment’, Planning Theory 14(4): 360-383.

Holden, M., Scerri, A. & Esfahani, A. (2015) ‘Justifying redevelopment “failures” within urban “success stories”: Dispute, compromise, and a new test of urbanity’, International Journal of Urban and Regional Research 39(3): 451-70.

Scerri, A. & Holden, M. (2014) ‘Ecological modernization or sustainable development? Vancouver’s Greenest City Action Plan: the city as “manager” of ecological restructuring’, Environmental Policy & Planning 16(2): 261-79.

Scerri, A. (2014) ‘Comfortably inhabiting reality: Justifying and denouncing arguments in a development dispute in the postindustrial gentrified inner-city’, Space & Polity 18(1): 39-53.

Holden, M., Scerri, A. & Owens, C. (2013) ‘More publics, more problems: The productive interface between the Pragmatic Sociology of Critique and Deweyan Pragmatism’ Contemporary Pragmatism 10(2): 1-24.

Scerri, A. (2013) ‘The World Social Forum: Confronting power in the network of networks’, Social Movement Studies, 12(1): 111-20.

Scerri, A. (2013) ‘Green citizenship and the political critique of injustice’, Citizenship Studies, 17(3-4): 293-307.

Holden, M. & Scerri, A. (2012) ‘More than this: Liveable Melbourne meets Liveable Vancouver’, Cities, 34: 444-53.

Translated into Chinese as, Holden, M. & Scerri, A. (2016) 意味深长 :当宜居墨尔本遇上宜居温哥华, 文章编号:1673-94.   

Scerri, A. (2012) ‘Ends in View: The capabilities approach in ecological/sustainability economics’, Ecological Economics 77: 7-10.

Scerri, A. & Magee, L. (2012) ‘Household sustainability, stakeholder citizens and sustainability’, Environmental Politics, 21(3): 387-411.

James, P. & Scerri, A. (2012) ‘Globalizing consumption and the deferral of a politics of consequence’ Globalizations 9(2): 225-40.

Magee, L., Scerri, A., & James, P. (2012) ‘Measuring community sustainability: A community-centric approach’, Applied Research in Quality of Life 7(3): 239-61.

Article awarded Best Paper of 2012 Award for papers published in ARQL: http://www.isqols.org/berlin2014/

Scerri, A. & James, P. (2010) ‘Communities of citizens and ‘indicators’ of sustainability’, Community Development 45(2): 219-36.

Scerri, A. (2009) ‘Paradoxes of increased individuation and public awareness of environmental issues’, Environmental Politics 18(4): 467-85. 

Book Chapters

Scerri, A. & Sobhani, N.* (2018) ‘Even natural disasters are unlikely to slow us down…: Corporate Social & Environmental Responsibility as well-crafted political judgment’, Biopolitical Disaster, J.L. Lawrence, S.M. Wiebe (eds), London: Routledge, ISBN: 978-1-1386-5945-2, pp. 62-77.

Scerri, A. (2014) ‘The emergence of postmodern theory in sociology’ in, Postmodernism in a Global Perspective, S. Dasgupta, P. Kivisto (eds.) London: Sage, pp. 75-91: ISBN 978-81-321-1318-8

Scerri, A. (2011) ‘Rethinking responsibility? Household sustainability in the stakeholder society’ in, Material Geographies of Household Sustainability in Australia and the U.K., R. Lane & A. Gorman-Murray (eds.) Farnham: Ashgate [now Routledge], pp. 175-192, ISBN: 978-1-4094-0815-4

Incentive Grant,  College of Liberal Arts and Human Sciences, Virginia Tech (USD$10,000)

Forschungsaufenthalte für Hochschullehrer und Wissenschaftler, 2019, Deutscher Akademiker Austasuchdienst/Research Stays for University Academics and Scientists, 2019, German Academic Exchange Service (€7,150)

Film Screening Fund Award for the Screening of International Films and Films Showcasing Cultural Difference, ‘Politics & Popcorn’ event 2017, Democrats and post-film student debate, College of Liberal Arts and Human Sciences, Virginia Tech (USD$340)

Film Screening Fund Award for the Screening of International Films and Films Showcasing Cultural Difference, ‘Politics & Popcorn’ event 2016, The Muslims Are Coming! and post-film student debate, College of Liberal Arts and Human Sciences, Virginia Tech (USD$650)

Dean’s Faculty Fellowship 2015-6, College of Liberal Arts and Human Sciences, Virginia Tech (USD$7,500).

Social Science and Humanities Research Council, Insight Grants (2014-2019) ORS Proposal: 17196 - Critical comparative urban sustainability: new pieces of city embedding new urban values, Applicant; Holden, M., International collaborator: Scerri, A. (CDN$180,000, withdrawn, no longer qualified).

Australia Council for the Arts; Creative Communities Partnership Initiative (2012-15) Central Goldfields Shire Arts and Culture Project. Applicants: Scerri, A., Smithies, J. and James, P. (AUD$800,000, withdrawn, no longer qualified).

International Council for Canadian Studies – Understanding Canada, Faculty Research Programme (2010-11); “Sustainable cities, sustainable nations? Establishing the basis for a comparative investigation of urban policy for sustainable development in Canadian and Australian cities and metropolitan regions”. Applicants: Scerri, A., Holden, M. (CDN$15,000).

Canadian Government Social Science and Humanities Research Council Research Development Initiative (2010-11) “Critical Urban Sustainability in the ‘World’s Most Liveable Cities’”, Chief Applicant: Holden, M., Co-Applicant: Scerri, A. (CDN$25,000).

Academy of the Social Sciences in Australia/Department of Innovation, Industry, Science and Research (DIISR) International Science Linkages (ISL) Program (2010-11) “Plans, targets, indicators and action: Establishing the basis for a comparative investigation of policy for Sustainable Development in Canadian and Australian ‘metro-regions”, Collaborating Researchers: Scerri, A., Holden, M. (AUD$5,000). 

Undergraduate

  • Urban Politics (Virginia Tech, #3434)
  • Origins of the State (Virginia Tech, #3784)
  • Global Environmental Issues (Virginia Tech, #3344)
  • Introduction to Political Theory (Virginia Tech, #2014)
  • Global Environmental Risk and Governance (RMIT, 2nd year)
  • Environmental Theory (RMIT, 3rd year/Honours)
  • Culture, Technology & Social Change (RMIT, 2nd year)
  • Theories of International Politics (Deakin University, 3rd year)

Graduate

  • Forget Populism? (Technische Universität Darmstadt)
  • Critical Theory and the Crisis of the Left (Technische Universität Darmstadt)
  • Environment, Security & Governance (Virginia Tech, #6004)
  • Environmental Politics & Policy (Virginia Tech, #5584)
  • Public Ecology (Virginia Tech, #5364)
  • Global Capitalism, Environmental Politics, and Social Justice (Virginia Tech, #5xxx)
  • Research Methods in the Social Sciences (RMIT, postgraduate studies required course)
  • Ms Ana Maria Camargo-Palomino, MA, PSCI, committee member, environmental justice, farmworker rights in central Idaho
  • Ms Rebecca J. Sherrod, MA, PSCI, committee member, policy implications of contagious disease outbreaks in sub-Saharan Africa
  • Ms Rebecca E. Moser, MA PSCI, committee chair, winner best MA thesis, Dept. of Political Science, 2017, urban sustainable development policy and poverty in Cleveland, Milwaukee and Indianapolis
  • Ms Ketherine M. Steffy, MA, PSCI, committee member, environmental law and environmental justice in the Chesapeake Bay
  • Ms Hilary M. Krein, MA, PSCI, committee chair, fossil fuel politics in North Dakota
  • Dr Anna E. Erwin, PhD, PGG, committee member, farmworker rights in eastern North Carolina
  • Ms Heather E. Lynn, MPIA, committee member, public art and environmentally sustainable development in Roanoke
  • Mr Evan C Mosely, MA, PSCI, committee chair, winner best MA thesis, Dept. of Political Science, 2018, Implementation of REDD+ programs in Costa Rica
  • Mr Robert E. White, OLMA, PSCI, committee chair, comparing GHG emissions reduction policies in California and Germany
  • Mr Rayhan Duadani, OLMA, PSCI, committee chair, offshore wind pilot project in Virginia

Andy Scerri has been awarded several grants to work as a visiting researcher at Simon Fraser University in Vancouver, Canada, and the Technical University-Darmstadt in Germany. He has also given invited lectures and talks at the Australian National University, Monash University, Shanghai Institute of the Social Sciences, and Vassar College, as well as at the Institute for Social Ecology in Vermont, the United Nations Global Compact Cities Program Secretariat in Melbourne, the British Columbia Environment Ministry in Victoria, and the City of Melbourne.

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