Political Ecology & Critical Social Research

Complex relations shaped by social, political, and historical forces constitute our world. Intertwined lives and ecologies emerge alongside the histories of capitalism, militarism, racism, colonialism, and sexuality. Political ecology provides a framework for examining the complex interactions between nature and society, while critical social research draws on social theories to challenge dominant narratives, power structures, and taken-for-granted assumptions about the world, seeking to uncover the ways in which knowledge is shaped by existing social relations. Research by faculty and students in ESS includes land and resource politics, ecological knowledge, power dynamics, mining and extractive industries, agri-food systems, energy, the relationship between climate change and social inequalities, poverty, and the political economy of global environmental change.  By engaging with critical perspectives, researchers develop nuanced understandings of the entanglements between humans and the more-than-human world, working toward more equitable futures.