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Political Ecology

Political Ecology is the study of how social power relations are entwined with environmental processes, in contexts such as food production, extractive industries, climate change vulnerability and urbanization. EUC researchers are examining these processes in contexts as diverse as Indigenous communities and urban peripheries in Canada, the forests of Costa Rica, water resources in Chile, conservation and the lives of animals in Southern Africa, and labour in the distant water fisheries of Southeast Asia.

Great Lake Canoe Journey poster

Community Partnerships

Professor Deborah McGregor’s Indigenous Environmental Justice project works with Indigenous communities to develop approaches to environmental justice that are informed by Indigenous knowledge systems, laws, concepts of justice and the lived experiences of Indigenous peoples. The project provides resources for community members, students, activists and scholars.

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Researcher Spotlights

Carlota McAllister

Carlota McAllister

Professor McAllister is a political and historical anthropologist studying how gauchos living in Chilean river valleys build collective responses to the dam proposals.

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Felipe Montoya

Felipe Montoya

Professor Montoya is director of York’s Las Nubes Eco-campus in Costa Rica, where he studies community development and environmental conservation.

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Anna Zalik

Anna Zalik

Professor Zalik’s research focuses on the political economy and political ecology of oil, gas and other extractives, including their relations to historical and contemporary colonialism.

Read About Professor Zalik's Work