Sociology Faculty Directory

Brian Gareau

Associate Professor, Associate Dean for the Core

Biography

Professor Gareau was named Associate Dean for the Core in 2018. He is responsible for overseeing the University Core Curriculum, which consists of fifteen core requirements that all undergraduate students at Boston College fulfill. As Associate Dean, Gareau chairs the University Core Renewal Committee and works with faculty and academic departments on their engagement with the Core Curriculum. One major initiative is the management of Complex Problems and Enduring Questions course offerings, courses that satisfy two different Core requirements though interdisciplinary team teaching rooted in the Jesuit tradition. Complex Problems and Enduring Questions courses are taken by over 1,000 first year students every year. Gareau's scholarship focuses on the sociology of global environmental governance, especially the governance of ozone layer depletion and global climate change. He also publishes on theorizations of society/nature relations, alternative development, and agri-food systems. Gareau's latest book, Organic Futures (Yale University Press), co-authored with former BC undergraduate Connor J. Fitzmaurice, was translated into Japanese in 2018. Gareau's latest project involves conducting research on the links between cranberry production in Massachusetts and global climate change.