Wangari Maathai Visiting Professors

His research interest is on property rights and collective action in natural resource management, institutions in environmental protection, project impact evaluation, and institutional and behavioural analysis.

His professional and research interests are adaptation and resilience to climate change, economics of resource degradation, poverty and food security, property rights to land and conflict.

The original invite for the Wangari Maathai visiting professor was from April to October 2021. Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, it was not possible to avail it for the entire duration and hence it was rescheduled for the summer term of 2022 (June to October). In 2021, the offer was accordingly curtailed to a shorter duration between September and October, and Praveen Jha was there for about three weeks. He did the online public talks as part of the visit, which are also on the website. Further, he taught two courses (online) during the 2021 Summer term

Labour Economics, Agricultural economics, Development economics, Public Finance, Economics of education, History of Economic Thought

Working class politics; South African trade unionism and politics; Ecological Marxism; Happiness, wellbeing and holistic development

This course takes as its starting point the inter-connections between economy and ecology, both of which have a common root in the ancient Greek word oikos. However, it goes further by considering the interconnections between ecology, economics and politics (which in its extended form includes all power relations in society). This stretched understanding of ecology, economy and society allows for a deeper exploration issues that can fall under the rubric of 'holistic development'.

This deep exploration goes back to the ancient thinking of the Axial Age over 2000 years ago, where religious and secular philosophers grappled with the problem of human suffering, in a context of brutal class formation and the emergence of debt. Compassion towards other humans, as well as non-human nature, became guiding principles.This is most evident in the thinking and teaching of the Buddha (although it can be found in a range of other belief systems, including the Native American concept of buen vivir (or sumak kawsay) and the African concept of ubuntu, amongst others).

Ancient thinking is linked to modern re-awakenings, as society today grapples with rising social inequality, alienation and what some have termed 'ecocide'. It in particular considers the emerging Ecological Marxist school of thinking, Social Ecology and eco-feminism. The course ends with considerations of more concrete thinking around Happiness and Wellbeing, and Ecosocialism, as well as case studies of ecosocialist working class politics and the liberated zone of Rojava in Kurdistan.

The course interrogates structures around finance, money, and banking, to discuss how closely the two are related. The objective of this course is to give students familiarity and a critical perspective on topics of finance in the global economy. The theoretical focus will be on finance as power, especially how issues of coercion and inequality are legitimated and institutionalized in the global economy. The empirical focus will include — but not be restricted to — Global South countries and regions, which have been enriched by but also subordinated by international monetary and financial structures. Topics covered will include mainstream and heterodox approaches to finance, financial development and assistance, shifting models of banking, offshore finance, money creation, and financial crises and instability.