Professor Dr. Bethany Wiggin

Biography

Bethany Wiggin is a Professor and the Founding Director of the Penn Program in Environmental Humanities at the University of Pennsylvania. Her research spans early modern German Atlantic cultural history and environmental humanities. Wiggin’s work emphasizes bridging the disparate timescales of human and natural histories. Propelled by years of archival research in multilingual collections, particularly within the Quaker colony in Pennsylvania, her book seeks to reflect on enduring coloniality while confronting the challenges of the Anthropocene. She has been instrumental in establishing a vibrant hub for community-engaged work in public environmental humanities, supported by grants that have catalyzed projects such as the Ecotopian Toolkit and Climate Story. Wiggin has been a faculty member since 2003 and chairs various committees focused on climate and sustainability initiatives within the university. Her courses, such as Sustainability and Utopianism, reflect her commitment to bridging academic study with practical engagement.

Research Interests