Phedeas Stephanides

Background

About Phedeas Stephanides

I am a human and economic geographer with interests across the environmental social sciences conducting critically-constructive research on the intersections of ecological, technological, and political change. My work closely engages with contemporary empirical and conceptual debates on the role of civil society in innovation and progress, particularly in sustainability contexts. I have developed this interest through research in three core areas:(a) social movements and community organisations creating radical solutions to climate change and sustainable development,(b) energy publics and their roles in socio-technical transitions to a low-carbon energy system, and (c) smart grid technologies and their impacts on everyday practices. My PhD research (completed in 2018) analysed community currencies developed in the wake of the Greek economic crisis as tools for sustainable (purposive) degrowth in 2018, and has paved the way for exploring diverse forms of public engagement with sustainability using a variety of theoretically-informed perspectives. I am currently a Lecturer in Sustainable Consumption in the School of Environmental Sciences, University of East Anglia (UEA), and Senior Research Fellow at the newly-established UKERC Observatory of Public Engagement with Energy and Climate Change. My current, post-doc work finds me:(a) contributing to research, impact, and engagement work around UK energy publics for UKERC’s Public Engagement Observatory,(b) exploring diverse forms of public participation in island energy transitions on the TILOS-Horizon 2020 and ICE (Intelligent Community Energy) projects,(c) convening a masters-level module on Sustainable Consumption, and (d) teaching undergraduate and postgraduate students on the BA and BSc Geography courses of the School of Environmental Sciences, UEA.