Floramante SJ Ponce

Dr. Floramante SJ Ponce is a Research Fellow at LAMC who integrates social anthropology and sociology to analyze socioeconomic, political, and cultural dynamics in Southeast Asia (Laos and the Philippines). His work explores intersections of energy infrastructure, modernity, mobility, and spiritual power.

• Education
  • MA in Sociology (Ateneo de Manila University)
  • MA in Sociology and Social Anthropology (Central European University)
  • PhD in Social Anthropology (Max Planck Institute for Social Anthropology)

His research examines Chinese hydropower projects under China’s Belt and Road Initiative, focusing on their impacts on local communities in northern Laos, including electric-induced modernity, market integration, and socioeconomic/geo-mobility shifts. Recently, he transitioned to studying cosmological power in post-pandemic Lao spiritual practices.