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As a research assistant (RA) for Professor Dirk Philipsen at Duke University's Sanford School of Public Policy and the Kenan Institute for Ethics, your responsibilities would center around economic history, political economy, and sustainable development. [1, 2] Because Professor Philipsen’s work focuses heavily on challenging traditional economic models like GDP and exploring "wellbeing economies," his RA will do the following: 1. Literature Reviews and Deep-Dive Research You would conduct historical and economic research supporting his core focus areas, including:
- Alternative Economic Metrics: Gathering data and literature that critiques GDP and explores new ways to measure human and ecological well-being. [3, 4]
- The History of Capitalism & Private Property: Helping investigate the concepts of "the commons" and evaluating what he terms the "tragedy of the private". [1, 5]
- Social and Economic Justice: Looking into historical movements, race relations, and structural systemic design. [6, 7]
2. Lab and Program Support Professor Philipsen is the director of the Regenerative Futures Lab (rLab) and the Build a Better World FOCUS program. As an RA, you may be asked to [1] - Help coordinate and analyze projects evaluating how cities or campuses can transition into "regenerative systems" (such as rLab's "Happy City" initiatives).
- Assist in data gathering for local sustainability and climate educational commitments. [3, 8]
3. Editorial and Publication Assistance Given his extensive publication background—ranging from essays in Aeon to books published by Princeton University Press—this student position will need to assist with fact-checking, organizing citations, editing manuscript drafts, or prepping materials for upcoming conferences and keynotes. [3, 5, 7]
[1] https://sanford.duke.edu [2] https://scholars.duke.edu [3] https://www.linkedin.com [4] https://www.policyforum.net [5] https://www.instagram.com [6] https://hart.sanford.duke.edu [7] https://kenan.ethics.duke.edu [8] https://kenan.ethics.duke.edu |