Seth Ray Merritt

BS: Missouri State University, Sociology, 2009

Research Interests: Political Sociology, Science, Technology, and Society (STS), Sociology of Expertise, Economic Sociology, Environmental Sociology, Social Theory

Hi there.

I am a political sociologist studying at the University of California, San Diego. I bring insights from the sociology of expertise, science and technology studies, and environmental sociology together to try to understand some of the ways engineers, politicians and farmers have attempted to overcome water shortages in Spain and California from the early part of the 20th century to the present. My research tracks (a) some of the ways infrastructure has been used to solve water shortages over the past 75 years and (b) how the answers we have to these problems have changed as the cast of characters involved has morphed over time. I also try to make sense of (c) some of the ways that water shortages have become more difficult to solve as climate change has limited the options of states and individuals to control water resources on a warming planet.

I have helped teach courses in various disciplines, but most often have helped with courses related to Economic Sociology, Science and Technology Studies, Social Theory, and Political Sociology.