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Publications in VIVO

Goldman, Mara J

Associate Professor

Positions

Research Areas research areas

Research

research overview

  • I am a feminist political ecologist with a focus on knowledge politics related to conservation and development interventions. My work explores epistemological and ontological questions associated with environmental management, climate change, and wildlife conservation. I have worked for two decades with pastoral Maasai communities in Tanzania and Kenya. I now work as well with collaborators in India and am starting 2 overlapping collaborative projects:1) the gendered nature of wildlife conservation Globally (with a particular research focus on East Africa and India, 2) what Indigenous led conservation looks like across theory and practice around the world; All my work is concerned with how to decolonize methods, research and action to produce more socially just and ecologically sound futures.

keywords

  • political ecology of conservation and development, politics of knowledge and participation surrounding conservation and development interventions, changing pastoral landscapes and adaptive capacities as related to climate change and social change, politics of climate change knowledge, Gendered dimensions of conservation and development, Decolonizing knowledge and conservation, Indigenous-led Conservation, Science and Technology Studies, biodiversity conservation, conservation social science

Publications

selected publications

Teaching

courses taught

  • GEOG 1962 - Geographies of Global Change
    Primary Instructor - Spring 2020 / Spring 2021 / Spring 2024
    Familiarizes students with a geographic understanding of conflicts around the globe and of economic, political and cultural globalization. Analyzes the relationship between global forces, regions and local interests in contemporary territorial and geopolitical tensions and conflicts, emphasizing issues such as nationalism, migration, labor and natural resources. Formerly GEOG 2002.
  • GEOG 1972 - Sustainable Futures, Environment and Society
    Primary Instructor - Fall 2018 / Fall 2019 / Fall 2020 / Fall 2022
    Deepen your understanding of key global environmental issues, such as climate change, biodiversity loss, pollution, overconsumption, and environmental health hazards. We will discuss topics including conservation, water use, ethics, and environmental justice, and think about the relationship between politics, economy, culture and nature with case studies from around the globe.
  • GEOG 3862 - Global Africa: Environment, Development, and Culture
    Primary Instructor - Spring 2019 / Spring 2020 / Spring 2024
    What comes to mind when you think about Africa as a place and its connectedness to the rest of the world? Learn about the cultures, politics, economies, and ecologies of very specific places across the continent -- from urban Nigeria to rural villages in Tanzania. Understand historic and present day flows of people, wealth, ideas, and more, to and from Africa to the rest of the world, from the slave trade, colonialism and wildlife conservation, to food, music and sports. Recommended prerequisite: GEOG 1962 or GEOG 1972 or GEOG 1982 or GEOG 1992 or GEOG 2092.
  • GEOG 5722 - Field Methods in Human Geography
    Primary Instructor - Spring 2021 / Spring 2023
    Examines research methods associated with field work in human geography. Prepares students for fieldwork by focusing on geographic and interdisciplinary field work techniques; interpretation of field data; discussion of the politics, ethics and gender, race, class and cross-cultural issues related to field work. Same as GEOG 4722.
  • GEOG 6402 - Seminar: Political Ecology
    Primary Instructor - Fall 2020 / Fall 2024
    Critically examines the politics of human-environment relationships across cultures and societies. Focuses on environmental degradation, change and management from the perspectives including political economy, cultural politics, STS and post structural theory. May be repeated up to 6 total credit hours.
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