Mette M. High

Dr Mette High is a Reader (equivalent to Associate Professor) in the Department of Social Anthropology at the University of St Andrews and serves as Director of the Centre for Energy Ethics. Her research examines intersections between global economic processes and intimate moral frameworks, with primary fieldwork conducted in Mongolia's informal gold mining sector and U.S. energy landscapes.

Her research spans Economic Anthropology and Moral Anthropology, focusing on how resource extraction economies generate moral dilemmas around wealth distribution, patriarchal structures, and spiritual beliefs. She investigates the socio-cultural dynamics of mining economies and energy systems, bridging anthropological theory with urgent environmental and ethical concerns in natural resource governance.

Her publications reveal consistent thematic trajectories: the 2017 monograph Fear and Fortune analyzes Mongolian gold rush moral economies, while the 2019 special issue Energy and Ethics? explores ethical dimensions of global energy transitions. Collectively, her work demonstrates interdisciplinary rigor in connecting resource extraction to intimate moral worlds across divergent geopolitical contexts.

As Director of the Centre for Energy Ethics, she leads research initiatives examining ethical implications of fossil fuel extraction and renewable energy transitions, with particular attention to justice frameworks and community impacts in energy-producing regions worldwide.