John Lupinacci

Research Interests

John Lupinacci’s research focuses on how people, specifically educators, learn to both identify and examine destructive habits of modern human culture.  His work proposes that, through education, teachers can be leaders in confronting dominant assumptions about existing as individuals separate from and superior to the greater ecological systems to which we belong. He explains:

“As agents of change, we all have both the capacity and the responsibility to make an ethical choice to examine and challenge how dominant Western cultural ways of thinking have isolated us from recognizing the relationships that make up our ecological existence.”

Teaching/Professional Interests

Dr. Lupinacci teaches pre-service teachers and graduate students in the Cultural Studies and Social Thought in Education (CSSTE) program using an approach that advocates for the development of scholar-activist educators.  He has taught at the secondary level in Detroit and is co-author of the book EcoJustice Education: Toward Diverse, Democratic, and Sustainable Communities. His experiences as a high school math and science teacher, an outdoor environmental educator, and a community activist all contribute to examining the relationships between schools and the reproduction of the cultural roots of social suffering and environmental degradation.

Recent Accomplishments

Publications

• Lupinacci, J. (2013). Eco-ethical environmental education: Critically and ethically examining our perceptions of human. In K. Young, A. Kulnieks & D. Longboat (Eds.), Contemporary studies in environmental and indigenous pedagogies: A curricula of stories and place (pp. 185-200). Rotterdam, Netherlands: Sense Publishers.
• Lupinacci, J. (2012). Anarchism and education: A philosophical perspective. Educational Studies, 48(1), 108-111.
• Lupinacci, J. (2012). Book Review: Perspectives on the ideas of Gregory Bateson, ecological intelligence and educational reform. Australian Journal of Environmental Education, 27(2), 253-254.
• Lupinacci, J. (2011). Educating for commons sense: Learning that is situational, local, and supportive of living systems. PowerPlay: A Journal of Educational Justice, 3(1), 97-104.
• Martusewicz, R., Edmundson, J., & Lupinacci, J. (2011). EcoJustice education: Toward diverse, democratic, and sustainable communities. New York, NY: Routledge.
• Martusewicz, R., Lupinacci, J., & Schnakenberg, G. (2010). EcoJustice education for science educators. In M. Mueller (Ed.), Cultural Studies and Environmentalism (pp. 11-27). New York, NY: Springer.

Speaking Engagements and Conference Presentations

• “EcoJustice and Anarchism: Pedagogies and Solidarity.” To be presented at AFSA Baltimore, MD. November 2013
• “Confronting Human Supremacy in Collaborative Efforts toward Social and Ecological Justice.” To be presented at AESA Baltimore, MD.  November 2013
• “A Deep Design of the Southeast Michigan Stewardship Coalition: An EcoJustice approach to ‘Partnership’ and ‘Collaboration’ in the Community.” To be presented at AESA Baltimore, MD.  November 2013
• “Challenging ‘Realities’ with the Utopian Impulse: The Power of Imagination and the Local.” Presented at AERA San Francisco, CA. April 2013
• “Place-based Education: Understanding ‘Place’ as Eco-ethical Environmental Educators” Presented at Great Lakes Place-Based Education Conference East Lansing, MI.  November 2012
• “Developing Youth Stewardship Leaders through Youth Participation in action Research” Presented at Great Lakes Place-Based Education Conference East Lansing, MI.  November 2012
• “An Ecologically-Centered Learning Model: Adult Learning, Intermediary Organizations, and Protocol for an Ecologically-Centered Learning Trajectory” Presented at AESA Seattle, WA. November 2012
• “Shifting Perceptions of Membership: The Power of Fiction in Recognizing, Respecting, and Representing the Gift of Belonging” Presented at AESA Seattle, WA. November 2012
• “Challenging ‘Realities’ with the Utopian Impulse: The Power of Imagination, Excursions, and the Local” Presented at AESA Seattle, WA. November 2012
• “Cultural Perceptions and Human Impacts on Environment Education,” Keynote Address at 23^rd Annual Utah Environmental Educators Conference. Brigham City, UT. October 6, 2012.
• “Listening to the Counter-Narratives on Schooling,” Introduction Talk for Derrick Jensen at 2012 Porter Lecture Series. Ypsilanti, MI. March 23, 2012
• “Situational, Local, and In Support of Living Systems,” TEDtalk delivered at TEDxEMU Ypsilanti, MI. March 9, 2012
• “Promoting and Assessing Educator Growth in EcoJustice Education Through Reflective Practice” Presented at Great Lakes Place-Based Education Conference East Lansing, MI.  November 2011
• “Complicating Human Rights: An EcoJustice Perspective” Presented at AESA St. Louis, MO. November 2011
• “From Pedagogy of Isolation to Pedagogies of Solidarity” Presented at AESA St. Louis, MO. November 2011
• “Urban Education and Public Health” Presented at AESA St. Louis, MO. November 2011
• “EcoJustice Education and Local Activism: Teacher Education that is Situational, Local, and In Support of Living Systems.” Presented at AERA New Orleans, LA.  April 2011
• “EcoJustice Education and Food Security in Detroit.” Presented at AESA Denver, CO. October 2010
• “Educating for EcoJustice and Place” Chair of Panel at Great Lakes Bioneers Conference Detroit, MI.  October 2010
• “Eco-Justice-Oriented Science Education: Learning Relationships That Are Situational, Local, and Supportive of Living Systems” Presented at AERA Denver, CO. May 2010

Awards and Honors

• AESA Critics’ Choice Award 2011 for EcoJustice Education: Toward Diverse, Democratic, and Sustainable Communities