Clare Hinrichs, Ph.D.

Vitae

Research Interests

My research broadly addresses questions of how transitions to sustainability are understood, negotiated, organized, contested and assessed.  Substantively, much of my work occurs at the intersection between agriculture, food systems and the environment. Current research projects examine 1) the organization, ideologies and impacts of local and alternative food initiatives and movements and 2) social, ethical and land use implications of bioenergy crop production and energy development.  

Outreach/Extension Interests

Although I do not have a formal extension appointment, I see public engagement as an important part of my academic work.  I try to link useful findings from my research to Penn State Outreach and Extension efforts related to agricultural entrepreneurship, community development and environmental management.  I also partner with various non-governmental and governmental organizations that are interested in community-based applied research that can inform policy and programs.

Current/Recent Courses

• RSoc 508: Sociology of Agriculture
• RSoc 597C: Qualitative Research Methods
• AgEco/RSoc 134: Sustainable Agriculture Science and Policy
• CED 475: Community, Environment and Development Integrated Capstone
  

Recent Selected Publications

Rossi, Alissa M. and C. Clare Hinrichs. 2011. Hope and skepticism: Farmer and local community views on the socio-economic benefits of agricultural bioenergy. Biomass and Bioenergy 35: 1418-1428.

Bloom, J. Dara and C. Clare Hinrichs. 2011. Moving local food through conventional food system infrastructure: Value chain framework comparisons and insights. Renewable Agriculture and Food Systems 26(1): 13-23.

Schafft, Kai A., C. Clare Hinrichs and J. Dara Bloom. 2010. Pennsylvania Farm-to-School Programs and the Articulation of Local Context. Journal of Hunger and Environmental Nutrition 5(1):23-40.

Hinrichs, C. Clare. 2010. Sustainable food systems: Challenges of social justice and a call to sociologists. Sociological Viewpoints 26(2): 7-18. [Keynote address, 2009 meeting of Pennsylvania Sociological Society]

Hinrichs, C. Clare. 2010. Conceptualizing and creating sustainable food systems: How interdisciplinarity can help. Pp. 17-36 in Imagining Sustainable Food Systems: Theory and Practice, edited by Alison Blay-Palmer. Farnham, Surrey: Ashgate.

Bagdonis, Jessica M., C. Clare Hinrichs and Kai A. Schafft. 2009. The emergence and framing of farm-to-school initiatives: Civic engagement, health and local agriculture. Agriculture and Human Values 26: 107-119.

Hinrichs, C. Clare and Patricia Allen. 2008. Selective patronage and social justice: Local food consumer campaigns in historical context. Journal of Agricultural and Environmental Ethics 21: 329-352.

Hinrichs, C. Clare. 2008. Interdisciplinarity and boundary work: Challenges and opportunities for agrifood studies. Agriculture and Human Values 25(2): 209-213.

Hinrichs, C. Clare and Thomas A. Lyson (eds.) 2007. Remaking the North American Food System: Strategies for Sustainability. Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press.