Dr. Ellie Louson teaches courses on the history, philosophy, and sociology of science and is a faculty member of the Science and Society group. She also teaches a summer study away course about nature and infrastructure in coastal Maine. Her research is on wildlife films and their representation of animal behavior; she is also interested in science communication, science in the media, documentary, and the history and philosophy of biology. Her work fits within a broader conversation about the historical and cultural treatment of nature, environment, and wilderness. It's important because we don't study nature in a vacuum: our ideas about nature feed back on and draw from what we think about human beings and society. She works as an educator developer at MSU's Center for Teaching and Learning Innovation to support educators and to improve interdisciplinary, experiential learning at MSU. She is the associate director of teaching & learning for CIRCLE, MSU's Center for Interdisciplinary Research, Collaboration, Learning, & Engagement.