Leila Chakroun

Leila Chakroun is an Assistant Professor in Geography at Paris City University, specializing in socio-ecological transitions of territories. She holds a Doctorate in Environmental (Social) Sciences from the University of Lausanne, where she completed her thesis titled "En quête d'autres milieux. La permaculture au prisme de la mésologie en Suisse et au Japon" in 2023. Currently, she serves as an Associate researcher at Ladyss and is a member of the "Japanese Populations/Territorial Dynamics" team at Inalco/Infrae. From September 2024 to February 2025, she will work as a Scientific collaborator at the School of Health and Social Work in Lausanne on a project focused on enhancing urban biodiversity and environmental justice.

Dr. Chakroun's research focuses on environmental humanities, engaged epistemology, and the role of research during ecological crises. Her work explores the anthropology of alternative agricultural practices through immersive participant observation, with particular attention to permaculture and agroecology. She investigates the geography of neo-materialist social movements and the existential and cultural dimensions of ecological transition trajectories, examining activist engagement in the Anthropocene. Her research also addresses agricultural cities and agroecological urban planning, the renewal of territorial planning, and multispecies justice in urban contexts.

Her scholarly work reveals a strong interdisciplinary approach that bridges environmental studies, geography, anthropology, and cultural studies. Through her publications and presentations, she has developed innovative frameworks like the "mésological self" concept, exploring how permaculture practices can transform human-environment relationships and create new forms of environmental justice. Her research demonstrates how marginalized agricultural practices can catalyze broader territorial transformations.

• Reviewer for scientific journals: Cahiers Agricultures, De Ethica, La Pensée écologique, People and Nature
• Founding member of Permaculture Romande (Permaculture.ch)
• Collaborator with artists on transdisciplinary projects including with choreographers Nicole Seiler, Grégory Stauffer, and Ruth Childs

Dr. Chakroun has developed significant expertise in transdisciplinary research, currently engaging with artistic actors as a scientific partner in projects that explore alternative epistemologies and relationships with living beings. She has developed new embodied and multispecies methodologies inspired by ecosomatic approaches, collaborating with artists to create innovative frameworks for understanding environmental transitions.