Professor
130 Johnston Hall
(414) 229-6252
backes@uwm.edu
Vita (pdf-26kb)
Ph.D. (honorary), Northland College, Ashland, Wisconsin
Ph.D., University of Wisconsin-Madison
M.S., University of Wisconsin-Madison
B.S., University of Wisconsin-Madison
Research Interests: Relationships among nature, culture, religion and spirituality.
Teaching Areas: Freshman Seminar, Nature and Culture in the Information Age, Religion, Media, and Culture, Senior Seminar in Mass Communication and Society.
Other Activities:
Deacon in the Archdiocese of Milwaukee.
Founding board member of the Listening Point Foundation which is dedicated to the preservation of Sigurd Olson's property and to promoting and building upon his legacy in wilderness philosophy and education.
Public speaker on various environmental themes.
Sigurd F. Olson Web Site: www.uwm.edu/Dept/JMC/Olson/
Selected Publications:
Spirit of the North: The Quotable Sigurd F. Olson. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 2004.
The Meaning of Wilderness: The Essential Articles and Speeches of Sigurd F. Olson. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 2001.
A Wilderness Within: The Life of Sigurd F. Olson. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 1997. Winner of 1998 national Small Press Book Award for best biography.
The Wilderness Companion. Minocqua, Wis.: NorthWord Press, Inc., 1992.
Canoe Country: An Embattled Wilderness. Minocqua, Wis.: NorthWord Press, Inc., 1991.