Dr. Sophie Chao
Anthropologist
University of Sydney, Australia
Dr. Sophie Chao
Anthropologist
Sophie Chao is a Postdoctoral Research Associate at the University of Sydney’s School of Philosophical and Historical Inquiry. Her research explores the intersections of capitalism, ecology, Indigeneity, health, and justice in the Pacific. In particular, she is interested in changing human-environment relations across Indigenous, corporate, and scientific contexts. Her theoretical thinking is inspired by interdisciplinary currents including multispecies ethnography and the environmental humanities, as well as Indigenous Studies, Critical Race Studies, and Science and Technology Studies. She is now embarking on a new project that will investigate the nutritional and cultural impacts of agribusiness on Indigenous food-based socialities, identities, and ecologies.
Referenced Content
SOPHIE CHAO: environmental anthropologist & multispecies ethnographer
I am an environmental anthropologist interested in the intersections of capitalism, ecology, Indigeneity, health, and justice in the Pacific. My theoretical thinking is inspired by interdisciplinary currents including the environmental humanities and Science and Technology Studies, as well as Indigenous, Postcolonial, and Critical Race Studies. I am currently a Postdoctoral Research Associate at the University of Sydney, where I will assume the position of Discovery Early Career Research Award Fellow and Lecturer in Anthropology in March 2022.
Sophie Chao Google Scholar Profile
Sophie Chao, University of Sydney
Environmental Anthropology, Environmental Humanities, Science and Technology Studies, Plantations, Justice
In the Shadow of the Palms: More-Than-Human Becomings in West Papua (Duke Upress, 2022)
With In the Shadow of the Palms, Sophie Chao examines the multispecies entanglements of oil palm plantations in West Papua, Indonesia, showing how Indigenous Marind communities understand and navigate the social, political, and environmental demands of the oil palm plant.