Maxwell (Max) Boykoff

Research Interests

Max Boykoff's research has concentrated on interactions between state and non-state actors at the interface of environmental science, policy and practice. He has been working in two primary research areas: 1. issues in the cultural politics of climate change, and 2. transformations of carbon-based economies and societies

The first strand of work involves projects that A. analyze media coverage of climate change, B. explore how discourses influence workings in the new carbon economy and ongoing environmental policymaking, and C. interrogate the role of celebrity endeavors in environmental issues.

For example, his work on media representational practices and climate change has entailed interdisciplinary approaches to these questions at many scales (individual, local, regional, national, etc). He has explored how media representations shape/are shaped by socio-economic and geopolitical contexts, as well as how they influence public understanding of the causes and consequences of climate change. Research has sought to clarify contentions and improve connections between media, science, policy and civil society.

Max has authored or co-authored over a dozen peer-reviewed articles and book chapters for edited volumes on this theme. He is completing a monograph book (for Cambridge University Press) entitled "Who Speaks for Climate? Making Sense of Mass Media Reporting on Climate Change."

In addition, Max Boykoff and Maria Mansfield (University of Oxford) have been tracking newspaper coverage of climate change or global warming in 50 newspapers across 20 countries and 6 continents. To view the latest graph see: 2004-2010 World Newspaper Coverage of Climate Change or Global Warming (updated monthly). Country level profiles are now available as well for the United States, United Kingdom, and India.

Related to this work, Max has delivered presentations in venues such as the Association of Japanese Environmental Journalists in Tokyo in August 2010, the G8+5 Environment Ministers meeting in Siracusa, Italy in April 2009, the 5th World Congress of Science Journalists in London, UK in July 20009, a side-event at the 2008 UN Conference of Parties meeting to the UNFCCC in Poland in December 2008, and a session (he chaired as well) on "Media and Climate Change" at the March 2009 Copenhagen Climate Congress, in Copenhagen, Denmark.

The second strand of ongoing research is focused on aspects of carbon-based industry and society. This engagement has taken on many forms. Among them, Max is co-editing special issue for Antipode and book with Dr. Emily Boyd (Leeds University) and Dr. Peter Newell (University of East Anglia) exploring "What is "new" about the carbon economy?" (for 2011 publication). In 2009, Max co-edited a special issue of "Theorising the Carbon Economy" with Dr. Sam Randalls (University College London), Dr. Adam Bumpus (University of British Columbia), Prof. Diana Liverman (University of Arizona) in Environment and Planning A. Authors in these special issue mobilize a range of theoretical tools in order to understand, interpret and productively critique potentially novel and contemporary constellations of interests surrounding the "carbon economy".

Furthermore, Max co-authored a 2010 Global Environmental Change article with Dr. David Frame (University of Oxford) and Dr. Sam Randalls (University College London). This article interrogates the institutionalization of the discourse of "climate stabilization" over the last three decades. Taking a historical perspective, they argue that while this discourse has been valuable in making climate science legible and useful to governance in the past, it is now limiting wider considerations for alternative mitigation efforts, through premature foreclosure around fixed international policies.

These endeavors link to a larger project that Max has developed with Dr. Emily Boyd (Leeds University) on climate adaptation strategies in urban environments. In this project they have focused on adaptation strategies associated with flood events in Mumbai, India. This project links with some of Max’s past research that examined vulnerability and livelihood issues in relation to global climate change and extreme events in Honduras.

Weaving these interests together, Max worked on two edited books in recent years:

In 2008 Max co-edited a book entitled Contentious Geographies: Environmental Knowledge, Meaning and Scale (Ashgate) with Dr. Michael K. Goodman (Lecturer in Geography, Kings College London) and Dr. Kyle Evered (Assistant Professor of Geography, Michigan State University). Through varied critical approaches, case studies explored how conflicts over resources, livelihoods and the environment are (re)considered and (re)negotiated in efforts to affect environmental stewardship.

Second, he edited a volume called The Politics of Climate Change: A Survey (Routledge/Europa) (now in paperback). This volume gathered together scholars from many disciplines – such as Professor Maria Carmen Lemos, Dr. Susi Moser, Dr. Chuks Okereke, and the late Professor Stephen Schneider – to examine pivotal elements shaping attitudes, knowledge, and actions on climate change.

Selected Publications

Bottrill, C., Liverman, D., and Boykoff, M. (2010). Carbon soundings: greenhouse gas emissions of the UK music industry. Environmental Research Letters, Vol. 5.

Boykoff, M. (2010). Turning down the heat: the politics of climate policy in affluent democracies. Environment and Planning C: Government and Policy 28 567-570 .

Boykoff, M.T. (2010). Climate quarrels: ‘It’s not you, it’s me .. well it’s us’. Forum review for "Why We Disagree About Climate Change. Understanding Controversy, Inaction and Opportunity" by M. Hulme, The Geographical Journal, Vol. 176, No. 3, September 2010, pp. 267–269. doi:10.1111/j.1475-4959.2010.00371.x

Boykoff, M.T., and J. Smith. (2010). Media Presentations of Climate Change. Routledge Handbook of Climate Change and Society 210-218, Routledge.

O'Neill, S.J. and M. Boykoff. (2010). Climate denier, skeptic, or contrarian?. PNAS. doi:10.1073/pnas.1010507107

Publications updated October 2010

Recent Courses Include

Graduate Students