human ecology

... a head, heart and hands 'metadiscipline' focussed around an ethic of community regeneration and leadership for sustainability

Wikipedia defines human ecology as:
"an academic discipline that deals with the relationship between humans and their (natural) environment."

For me, this is too narrow. I understand human ecology as a 'metadiscipline' that continues to evolve and expand in its search to understand how human might live on earth sustainably and peacefully.

It's about getting academia engaged in service of the public good; about 'head, hand and heart' learning; about asking deep questions and challenging boxed-in assumptions and disciplines.

My own human ecological interests have been focussed on learning from:

Scots Generalism (eg Patrick Geddes' Scots polymathic genius)
Futures/Systems/Complexity/Choas Science (eg Conrad Waddington's 'Tools for Thought' - Waddington established the Centre for Human Ecology, Edinburgh, in 1972 following the first Earth Summit in Stockholm in that year)
Integral Theory (eg Ken Wilber's integral psychology)
Evolutionary Biology, Psychology and Neuro-science
Developmental Psychology/Consciousness theory
Holistic Ecological Science (eg Eugene Odum's pioneering work, again in the 1920s and Leopold's writing on a Land Ethic)
Action Research
Eco-literacy Education (eg Fritjof Capra/David Orr's work)
Ecofeminism (eg Caroline Merchant's Death of Nature)
Ecological Ethics/Deep Ecology (eg Arne Naess' philosophy)
Ecological Economics (eg Martinez-Alier's emphasis on resource flows through human society in his definition)

NOTES:
I have found integral practice a helpful way of finding the 'simplicity beyond the complexity' inherent in dualistic conventional academia.

If you'd like to join me on this journey, join a short course or the MSc Human Ecology that I co-convene at Strathclyde University.