Rate My Professor Eric Otto

Eric Otto is Professor of Environmental Humanities and Chair of the Department of Integrated Studies in the College of Arts and Sciences at Florida Gulf Coast University. His academic career at FGCU spans adjunct instructor (2004-2006), assistant professor (2007-2012), associate professor (2012-2019), and professor since 2019. Prior roles include lecturer in English at Penn State Erie, The Behrend College (2006-2007) and graduate teaching assistant at the University of Florida (2000-2003). Otto earned a B.A. in Liberal Studies-English, magna cum laude, from Florida Gulf Coast University in 2000; an M.A. in English in 2002; and a Ph.D. in English in 2006 from the University of Florida, with a dissertation titled Science Fiction and the Ecological Conscience. His research specializations include Environmental Humanities, Environmental Science Fiction, Contemporary Horror Fiction, Interdisciplinary Humanities Pedagogy, and Curriculum Leadership and Assessment. He teaches HUM 1020: Introduction to Humanities, IDS 3622: Issues in the Humanities, and IDS 4910: Integrated Studies Senior Seminar.

Otto has authored and edited significant works in environmental literature and science fiction studies, including the single-authored book Green Speculations: Science Fiction and Transformative Environmentalism (Ohio State University Press, 2012) and the forthcoming edited volume The Liverpool Handbook of Environmental Science Fiction (Liverpool University Press). Notable book chapters feature 'Science Fiction and the Revenge of Nature: Environmentalism (1990s–2010s)' in The Cambridge History of Science Fiction (Cambridge University Press, 2019), 'Killing Oliver Queen: Environmentalist Meaning and Demeaning in Green Arrow' in EcoComix (McFarland, 2020), and ''The Rain Feels New': Ecotopian Strategies in the Short Fiction of Paolo Bacigalupi' in Green Planets (Wesleyan University Press, 2014). Journal articles include 'Creating a Culture of Sustainability: Infusing Sustainability into the Humanities' (Journal of Education for Sustainable Development, 2009, with A. James Wohlpart) and ''From a Certain Angle': Ecothriller Reading and Science Fiction Reading The Swarm and The Rapture' (Ecozon@, 2012). His contributions extend to interviews in Salon and Gawker, and presentations at conferences such as Southwest Popular & American Culture Association (2025) and Escape Velocity (2019). Awards include the AGLS Exemplary Program Award for General Education (2016), Team Faculty Service Excellence Award (2013-2014), and nomination for Chair Excellence Award (2023-2024).