Teaching

The extraction of raw materials has dramatically transformed the biosphere and global climate. This class critically examines how society engages with old and new mineral distributions, from underground mining to tailing dams and e-waste. We will survey approaches to mining, ecology, and society relations, with particular attention to environmental justice, new materialisms and production networks. Through written commentaries and a final essay, you will apply these approaches to key contemporary challenges, including community-centered landscape recovery, the politics of clean-ups, transition minerals governance, and the sustainability of agrivoltaics.

College of Agriculture and Life Sciences (Global Development), Cornell University (Spring 2026)

This course explored how natural resources are assembled, questioning views of natural resources as mere "gifts of nature." Instead, we identify the specific knowledge, technologies, market values, and political processes that define parts of the biosphere as a resource. The course sits at the intersection of economic sociology, economic geography, and political ecology.

The class traces the complex webs and relationships that extend far beyond the immediate sites of extraction but are critical to shaping a resource's meaning. We examine cases involving minerals, hydrocarbons, and renewable energy to address three core, interconnected debates: a) the resource curse, b) the geopolitics of "critical minerals" and c) the energy transition.

Department of Social Sciences (Sociology), Pontificia Universidad Católica del Perú (2022-1)