“Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. We are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny. Whatever affects one directly affects all indirectly.”
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
In 2020, I earned my PhD. in Sociology at the University of Colorado Boulder where I received focused training in Environmental Sociology. My doctoral research entitled “It’s never been such a good Time to be a Beekeeper!” Large-scale Beekeeping and the Plight of Honey bees in the United States. is a qualitative study of the dire situation of honeybee health from the perspective of large-scale beekeepers and scientists who manage and care for almost all honeybees raised and used for pollination. I look at that case as a window to understand how culture, beliefs, and emotions are shaped by, and influence, all other animal species and ecosystems. Theoretically and empirically I am interested in understanding the interconnections between the macro-, the meso-, and the micro-social levels in the construction of our world, and I approach sociology as a tool for change.
I teach a broad range of courses at CU Boulder in the sociology department and for Continuing Education..
My areas of expertise include:
- Environmental Sociology
- Environmental Justice
- Animal Studies
- Qualitative Methods
- Theory
Prior to graduate school I taught elementary school for ten years in the Southern French Alps and in a bilingual program in Palo Alto, CA, at the International School of the Peninsula. I received a BA in sociology (with a focus on education) from the University of Nice-Sophia Antipolis, France, and an MA in elementary education from the Institut Universitaire de Formation des Maîtres, Nice, France. As an elementary school teacher, my work centered around experiential learning, collaboration, and long-term projects (one school year) focused on environmental problems.
I am a certified rock-climbing coach and guide. I launched a rock-climbing school in 2008 (still running strong today) and have worked several seasons in Southern France as a climbing guide.
Through high-school and early college, I had the unique opportunity to play volleyball in the French youth national team before returning to the outdoors where I haven’t stopped biking, running, skiing, climbing, camping, and just being inspired and in peace, ever since. Today I am fortunate to share this passion for the outdoors with our twins whose enthusiasm for the little things constantly reminds me of the beauty of the natural world.
I have been fascinated by the magical world of honeybees and beekeeping for fifteen years and recently started baking all the bread our family (and many friends) consume.
I am also a volunteer naturalist for Boulder County Parks and Open Space.
Laurent Cilia 