Derek Woods is a writer, scholar, and theorist who works primarily on environmental issues. His research and teaching fields are environmental media, science and technology studies, critical theory, and US and British literature. With a background in forestry and biology, he also contributes to botanical research and naturalist practice. After completing his Ph.D. in English at Rice University in Houston, Texas, he held positions as Postdoctoral Fellow in the Society of Fellows at Dartmouth College and Assistant Professor of English at the University of British Columbia, Vancouver.
Dr. Woods is interested in creating dialogue between the sciences and humanities for the sake of anti-capitalist climate politics. His work studies the human condition in a time of accelerating ecological crisis, including how environmental damage and restoration intersect with the production of inequality and with efforts to redistribute wealth and power. He is committed to the idea that even the urgency of climate crisis requires careful reading and thought, especially reflection on the concepts, metaphors, and narratives we use to study our relations with nature. His publications include articles in journals like 'New Formations,' 'Diacritics,' 'New Literary History,' and 'Forest Ecology and Management.' With Joshua Schuster, he co-authored the book Calamity Theory: Three Critiques of Existential Risk (University of Minnesota Press, 2021). He has been invited to speak in the UK, Canada, Germany, France, Russia, and the United States. At McMaster, he is affiliated with the Centre for Climate Change, the Global Nexus School for Pandemic Prevention and Response, and the Net Zero Carbon Steering Committee.
Dr. Woods is open to serving on MA and PhD committees for any project in any discipline relevant to his experience.
Current Book Projects:
'Terrarium: A Media Theory of the Ecosystem'
'What Is Ecotechnology?'
'The Cultural Politics of Symbiosis'
