Nik Janos
Professor
I am a Professor of Sociology at California State University Chico. I earned my Ph.D. in Sociology from UC Santa Cruz in 2012.
My scholarly work focuses on the impacts of urbanization, governance practices, and technology on environmental issues. Past research includes post-Katrina New Orleans and Superfund clean-up efforts along the Duwamish River in Seattle, WA. Additionally, I co-edited the book Urban Cascadia and the Pursuit of Environmental Justice, which examines the profound transformations driven by capitalist urbanization in the Cascadia region and highlights the efforts of various stakeholders to foster a more equitable and democratic society.
New book coming January 2027! Damming Debates: Navigating the Waters of Northwest Hydropower with University of Washington Press. Preorder now.
Description:
“Hydropower embodies a central paradox of the clean-energy transition: infrastructure that produces abundant low-carbon electricity can simultaneously perpetuate ecological damage and colonial extraction. In the Northwest, debates about dam removal, salmon recovery, and energy reliability reveal how difficult it is to reconcile climate urgency with justice and ecological repair. Clear, nuanced, and grounded in voices from across the region, Damming Debates offers an essential guide to a consequential environmental crossroads—and to the broader challenge of building a just energy transition.”
Since the introduction of generative AI I have spend considerable time speaking and writing about AI’s impact on higher education with Zach Justus. Find our work on Melts into Air. Prefer listening? Find our podcast at Unfixed.
Publications:
Nik Janos and Zach Justus, “Canceling that Cal State ChatGPT contract does not solve the AI problem; it might make it worse,” EdSource.
Zach Justus and Nik Janos, (2026). “5 AI Myths and Why We Must Move Past Them”, Inside Higher Ed.
Zach Justus and Nik Janos (2025), “AI’s gone MAGA”, Inside Higher Ed
Markus Fischer and Nik Janos, “Hydropower Revolutions: A Comparative Analysis of Hydropower Development and Its Societal Impact in Norway and the Northwest United States (1945-1990), with Implications for Contemporary Energy Transitions,” Technische Universität Berlin, 2024, https://doi.org/10.14279/depositonce-21464.
Zach Justus and Nik Janos (2024), “Your AI Policy is Already Obsolete” Inside Higher Ed
Zach Justus and Nik Janos. (2024) “Assessment of Student Learning Is Broken.” Inside Higher Ed.
Nik Janos and Corina McKendry. (October 2021). Urban Cascadia and the Pursuit of Environmental Justice. University of Washington Press. Buy book.
Nik Janos, (2021), “The Making of Urban Cascadia: Extending Urbanization Through Airplanes, Software, and Infrastructure.” In Janos, N. And C. McKendry (Eds.), Urban Cascadia and the Pursuit of Environmental Justice. Seattle, WA: University of Washington Press.
Nik Janos and Corina McKendry. (2021). “Drawing the Thin Green Line: Throwing a wrench in carbon commodity chains.” In Janos, N. And C. McKendry (Eds.), Urban Cascadia and the Pursuit of Environmental Justice. Seattle, WA: University of Washington Press.
Nik Janos, (2018). Urbanising territory: The contradictions of eco-cityism at the industrial margins, Duwamish River, Seattle. Urban Studies, 57(11), 2282–2299. https://doi.org/10.1177/0042098018797284
Corina McKendry and Nik Janos. (2015). “Greening the Industrial City: Equity, Environment, and Economic Growth in Seattle and Chicago.” International Environmental Agreements: Politics, Law and Economics 1–16.
Nik Janos and Corina McKendry. (2014). “Globalization, Governance, and Re-Naturing the Industrial City: Chicago, IL and Seattle, WA.” Pp. 1–36 in, edited by S. Curtis.
Nik Janos, (2012). “Blinded by Science: The Allure of the Technological Fix After Hurricane Sandy.” Grist. https://grist.org/business-technology/blinded-by-science-the-allure-of-the-technological-fix-after-hurricane-sandy/
Media Appearances:
Teach Smarter Podcast, discussing all the ways that generative AI is disrupting higher education. https://www.listennotes.com/podcasts/teach-smarter-stephanie-dinnen-and-pete-siner-kpUgyS94cqC/?srsltid=AfmBOopx7e9u2uecoSnMrLiNjmg8jDG0A7GoIKVTqL5wqF4b6h7cRqR1
New Day Northwest, Seattle’s only daily morning show. Corina and I discuss Urban Cascadia and the Pursuit of Environmental Justice. https://www.youtube.com/watch?app=desktop&v=Guv2Jk6omWk
Sociology Ruins podcast. I critique the film Don’t Look Up. https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/sociology-ruins-everything/id1573416339?i=1000550066561
Course taught:
Environmental Sociology
Wealth and Inequality
Global Problems
Classical Social Theory
Public Sociology
Food Justice
The Politics of Sustainability