Transdisciplinary Approach to Tackle Super-Wicked Environmental Problems

In less than 200 words, what main research questions are you working on? Please make sure to first include a brief context and background to your research, articulate your question(s) and conclude with why you think it’s important to study the them (i.e., the potential broader impacts).

My main research question is “how can humanity apply the transdisciplinary approach to tackle super-wicked environmental problems?” The big problems facing humanity, such as global warming, biodiversity crisis, social injustice, poverty, and war, will not be solved in a research lab. Rather, solving these problems will require cooperation among experts from many fields working with policy-makers, leaders, and stakeholders. I am developing “transdisciplinary scholarship” using the HAMSTER (Humanities, Arts, Mathematics, Science, Technology, Engineering, Recreation) disciplines in Haiti (Watch Video). My work has revealed that racism and whiteness are the major causes of a wide array of problems in Haiti. Colonization by racist Europeans resulted in genocide of indigenous people and enslavement of Africans. Because racism and whiteness in higher education hinders my work in Haiti, and similar work, my research questions also deal with ways to disrupt racism and whiteness in higher education. These efforts are opposed by university administrations, which could lead to important conversations that could help address racism and whiteness in other areas of society.