Robin B. McDowell serves as the faculty liaison for the Bates men’s and women’s squash programs and is an assistant professor of environmental studies and affiliated faculty member in Africana studies.
McDowell’s teaching and scholarship explore the historical dimensions of environmental racism and visions for environmental justice in Black communities. Her research examines the connections among race, environment and economics through the history and landscapes of south Louisiana, including wetlands, sugar plantations, oil fields and salt mines.
Her current book project, Black Bayou: Race, Ecology, and the Transformation of Louisiana Wetlands, explores the relationship between race and the environment across a geologic time scale. Her interdisciplinary approach draws upon archival research, oral histories, earth sciences, graphic design and multimedia art.
McDowell earned her Ph.D. in African and African American Studies and M.A. in History from Harvard University, an M.F.A. in Design from the University of Texas at Austin, and a B.A. in Fine Art from the University of Pennsylvania. Her scholarship has appeared in publications including the Journal of American Studies, Southern Cultures, Radical History Review and you are here: The Journal of Creative Geography.
