Julia A. Flagg

Julia A. Flagg is an environmental sociologist. She teaches in both the Sociology Department and the Environmental Studies Program. She is currently the Director of the Environmental Studies Program.

Professor Flagg’s research is concerned with the social conditions under which some nations have worked to limit planet-warming greenhouse gas emissions. Her first book, Aiming for Net Zero: Costa Rica’s Green Elite and the Struggle to Mitigate Climate Change (October 2024, The MIT Press) is a case study on Costa Rica’s recent history of adopting notable climate mitigation policies. In it, she explores both why Costa Rican leaders adopted more climate mitigation policies than leaders elsewhere and how Costa Rican leaders adopted these policies. The book draws on three dozen interviews Flagg conducted with people in positions of influence in Costa Rica.

Some of her other research on climate mitigation has appeared in Human Ecology Review and Environmental Sociology. Her work in the latter was highlighted in Nature Climate Change.

Professor Flagg also has a record of publishing on interdisciplinary topics. She has published on the use of climate information in the water sector and water quality violations. This research has been published in Climate Risk Management and Water Resources Management, respectively. And in some of her earlier work, she explored environmental inequalities in disaster-affected communities, specifically those affected by Hurricanes Katrina and Sandy.

Professor Flagg brings a deep commitment to interdisciplinary teaching to Connecticut College. She enjoys regularly teaching an introductory course called Nature & Society, a Conn Course called Climate & Society, Sociology of the Environment, and a seminar on Disasters.

Before coming to Conn, Prof. Flagg completed a post-doctoral research fellowship in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at the University of Connecticut and worked with colleagues at CT State Community College Asnuntuck to teach as part of the Second Chance Pell Grant Program. Here, she taught a course on structural inequalities in the U.S. in two men’s correctional institutions in Connecticut.

A three-time marathon runner, these days Prof. Flagg enjoys slightly more leisurely opportunities to enjoy the outdoors.