Lisa Sideris

Lisa Sideris is a Professor in the Environmental Studies Department at the University of California Santa Barbara (UCSB). Prior to joining UCSB, she held teaching positions at Indiana University’s Religious Studies Department, McGill University’s Faculty of Religious Studies and School of the Environment, and Pace University’s Department of Philosophy and Religious Studies. Her academic focus spans environmental ethics, science and religion, and the ethical dimensions of the Anthropocene.

Education:

• Ph.D., Religious Studies, Indiana University
• M.A., Religious Studies, Indiana University
• B.A., Bioanthropology/History & Philosophy of Science, Indiana University

Research Interests: Sideris explores the ethical significance of natural processes, emphasizing how religion and science shape environmental values. She investigates the role of wonder in scientific discourse, the mythic and religious dimensions of Anthropocene technologies (e.g., geoengineering, de-extinction), and interdisciplinary frameworks for addressing human-environmental challenges. Her work bridges environmental ethics, theology, and the environmental humanities.

Publications: She is author of Environmental Ethics, Ecological Theology, and Natural Selection and Consecrating Science: Wonder, Knowledge, and the Natural World, and co-editor of Rachel Carson: Legacy and Challenge.

Leadership: Sideris serves as President-Elect of the International Society for the Study of Religion, Nature, and Culture, and is actively engaged in international research initiatives in the environmental humanities.