ABOUT RECOVERING THE COMMONS:
This is a blog for social theory for place, democracy, and climate justice. It grows out of a
book we published in 2010 which has tragically become only more relevant over
recent years. We invite you to share your reflections in the comments section.
Betsy Taylor & Herbert Reid
Herbert Reid: my work as a theorist of democratic politics and culture has been shaped by the ideas of Hannah Arendt, John Dewey, Maurice Merleau-Ponty, and Paul Virilio. My participant observation in Appalachian citizen action politics and community development projects has been a signal influence. My recent teaching and research efforts have focused on social ecology and environmental issues, globalization and speed, and theories of space and place. My 40 years of service at the University of Kentucky included terms as Director of the Appalachian Center and the Environmental Studies Program. I was co-author and co-PI for the UK Rockefeller Humanities Fellowship Program. Active in the Committee for Social Theory and in the Appalachian Studies program, I worked with community-based organizations in Appalachia for several decades. I can be reached at hgreid01@gmail.com. More publications are at https://uky.academia.edu/HerbertReid
Betsy Taylor: I am Executive Director of the Livelihoods Knowledge Exchange Network (LiKEN). I trained as a cultural anthropologist, but most of my work has been within richly interdisciplinary programs – in social theory, cultural & gender studies, Appalachian Studies (at Virginia Tech, University of Kentucky, and Albion College). I have worked with many action projects for community-driven, integrated development – including health, agriculture, forestry, culture and environmental stewardship – primarily in Appalachia and South Asia. Recent writing focuses on environmental and social justice movements, democratic planning & participatory research, gender, the commons, democratic reclamation of academe / professions – with a particular concern for regions directly affected by coal and other extractive industries. My
email is director@likenknowledge.org and publications at https://vt.academia.edu/BetsyTaylor