Michael Bell is an author and scholar, as well as a composer and performing musician.

Michael is the author or editor of eleven books, three of which have won national awards. His most recent book is the 2nd edition of Farming for Us All: Practical Agriculture and the Cultivation of Sustainability (Penn State University Press, 2024). Other recent volumes include Cambridge Handbook of Environmental Sociology (Cambridge, 2020; Legun, Keller, Carolan, and Bell, eds.), the 6th edition of An Invitation to Environmental Sociology (Sage, 2020; Bell, Ashwood, Leslie, and Schlachter), and City of the Good: Nature, Religion, and the Ancient Search for What Is Right (Princeton, 2018). He is currently finishing a book on the sociology of heritage, with Jason Orne and Loka Ashwood, as well as the 7th edition of An Invitation to Environmental Sociology.

Michael serves on the faculty of the University of Wisconsin-Madison, where he is the Philip David Lowe and Vilas Distinguished Achievement Professor of Community and Environmental Sociology; lab lead of the Soil Health and Agroecological Living Lab (SHALL); and an affiliate of the Agroecology Program, the Nelson Institute for Environmental Studies, and the Religious Studies Program.

Michael is a prolific composer of classical and grassroots music, as well as environmental and progressive song. He recently completed a 45-minute symphony entitled Regeneration: A Pentalogy, a portion of which will be premiered in 2024 by the Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra and choreographed and danced by Kanopy Dance Company. He performs regularly on guitar and mandolin with the world music band Tsuzamen, and on guitar as a soloist and in the Elm Duo. Discover his composition and performance at his separate music site.

Mike is passionate about progressive politics, their challenges and possibilities. He currently serves on the board of the Dane County Democrats.