Monica Bhatia

Monica Bhatia is an Assistant Professor of Sociology at Washington State University. She holds a Ph.D. from the University of Texas at Austin (2024). Her research focuses on intentional communities, worker cooperatives, and ecological sustainability through qualitative, ethnographic, and feminist methodologies. She examines how these communities address environmental justice and systemic inequality in areas like work, food, and housing.

Her work highlights barriers to forming intentional communities and worker cooperatives, particularly for marginalized groups. She investigates non-extractive financing models and critiques traditional policies exacerbating inequality. Bhatia’s research bridges sociology of gender, environmental sociology, and organizational studies.

Publications include analysis of Twin Oaks Intentional Community’s sustainability practices and gender dynamics in ecological communities. No awards or grants are explicitly listed, though her community-engaged scholarship emphasizes practical impact. She teaches in WSU’s Sociology department and advises students in related fields.