Mandy de Wilde

Mandy de Wilde is an Assistant Professor at Leiden University's Institute of Cultural Anthropology and Development Sociology within the Social and Behavioural Sciences faculty. Her research focuses on environmental anthropology, political ecology, and Science and Technology Studies (STS), exploring sustainable farming practices, indigenous crop valuation, and climate resilience in Northwestern Europe. She conducts fieldwork at the PolderLab Vrouwe Venne, studying experimental farming with wet crops like rice and cranberries. Previously, she held postdoctoral positions at the University of Amsterdam, Wageningen University, and the University of Antwerp, and was a visiting fellow at institutions including the University of Edinburgh and Humboldt University Berlin.

Her work examines intersections of ecological, economic, and social relations, emphasizing more-than-human agency and gendered normativities in sustainability movements. She teaches courses on economy-ecology linkages, anthropological research methods, and urban belonging. Notable publications include studies on rats as political agents in Amsterdam and gender dynamics in zero-waste living. Her research bridges academic inquiry with practical experiments in sustainable agriculture and urban ecologies.