Download Research profiles: Dr. Diane Bates

Research profiles: Dr. Diane Bates
By Sorraya Brashear- Evans
Some people find their calling through drastic life changing events, some are born
with their lifelong passions, and some people fall into their passion sideways. Dr.
Diane Bates is one of those people who it took some time before her career path
became clear.
Starting off with an interest in the economic development in Latin America, Bates
soon expanded on her initial development interests while attending college on the
north coast of California during the 80’s and 90’s, the “central hub” of the radical
Earth First protests movements. Bates was extremely impacted by those
movements and soon obtained a sense of environmental awareness.
“I developed my interest during the 1990’s where
there was a huge coalescing of ideas which stated
that development and the environment can’t be
separated. This was the beginnings of sustainable
development research,” says Bates.
Now sociology isn’t a term that most people are
familiar of, let alone Environmental sociology. Environmental sociology can be
roughly defined as a sub discipline of sociology that studies “the relationships
between human organizations and the non-human environment,” says Bates, who
has spent many years trying to explain how the main focus of an Environmental
sociologist is to study the nexus between people and the non-human environment
while keeping in perspective that it isn’t an individual based study. While
individuals do have an impact on the environment, looking at people in groups
yields more beneficial data.
“It isn’t so much about ‘how people think about the environment?’ but rather ‘how
does our political system or our economic system affect the way we interact with
the environment?” explains Bates.
Environmental sociologists often observe environmental problems as a social
movements rather than a series of arbitrary scientific occurrences that are out of the
control of human beings. This proved to be a bit of a struggle for Dr. Bates, who’s
had to translate scientific research into a social perspective so the general public can
understand.
“It’s interesting because most scientists will present their work and expect the
public to instantly agree with them but in a lot of cases, their terminology is too
dense for the public to comprehend, it’s one of the jobs of the sociologists to add
some social perspective behind the research to make people actually care,” she
describes.
Bates’s research has led her to the exotic
soils of the Ecuadorian Amazon where she
observed the demographic changes of a
settlement called Sinai and their farming
relationships with the land. She noted that
while the overall experience was positive, it was a little disheartening to realize how
much environmental ignorance still exists in the world today. Dr. Bates has also had
the opportunity to examine the contaminated soils in Trenton, NJ, one of the most
industrialized stricken cities in the United States.
“It’s sad because the areas that produce the most commodities, which help to
stimulate the economy are often
environmentally robbed and forced to live in
contaminated soils, breathe polluted air, and
drink water that is riddled in toxins. I’ve
been working with numerous local
organizations like Habitat for Humanity on
relief efforts to provide a safer, cleaner
environment for the people of Trenton, NJ.”
Michael Nordquist, a recently hired Adjunct professor in the Political Science
department at The College of New Jersey, has considered Dr. Bates’s research both
innovative and groundbreaking. It was her warm personality and interesting
research that made her one of the people he has look up to when he first arrived at
TCNJ.
“Dr. Bates’s research addresses the questions that need to be answered but are
never asked,” he explains, “She’s been wonderfully supportive as both a colleague
and a mentor with helping me find my way through TCNJ,” explains Nordquist.
Dr. Bates has touched the lives of more than her colleagues, recently transferred
Nick Gardner and Peter Peliotis had nothing but good things to say about how
welcomed by her. Being a transfer student is hard because most students often feel
lost or out of place, they often require someone whose willing to take the extra time
to guide them through their scholastic careers.
“I felt very lost when I first came here but Dr. Bates is one of those people who will
sit down with you and walk you step-by-step with your problems,” described
Gardner, “I wasn’t too sure if I wanted to go into sociology but after I talked with
her, I was definitely sure!”
Peter Peliotis, a Health and Environmental sociology major, spent most of his first
semester in Bates’s office, both asking for academic assistance and chatting it up
about various environmental issues. He notes that one of the most memorable
experiences was how she “seemed genuinely interested in my interests and talked
to me as more of a colleague than a student.
Dr. Diane Bates has stated that one of the biggest pleasures of teaching is
challenging her students and watching them grow, she is very grateful that she’s
been able to “both collaborate on research projects while building last memories
with her students.”