Ruth Goldstein

Ruth Goldstein is an Assistant Professor of Gender & Women's Studies at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Her research focuses on the intersections of gender, environmental racism, climate change, and transnational infrastructure projects. Her current book project, Life in Traffic: Women, Plants, and Gold Along the Interoceanic Highway, examines socio-environmental impacts of infrastructure development in Brazil, Peru, and Bolivia, emphasizing race, indigeneity, and health equity. Subsequent work explores mercury pollution's racialized health impacts on maternal/fetal well-being.

Goldstein teaches courses such as Gen&WS 533: Race, Gender, Botany and Gen&WS 339: Environmental Impacts on Maternal/Fetal Health, integrating ecological and anthropological perspectives. Her research methods emphasize decolonial and participatory approaches, including ethnobotanical studies and interdisciplinary fieldwork.

Her publications analyze mercury toxicity, environmental justice, and queer ecofeminism, with contributions to Cultural Anthropology, Anthropology Today, and ILHA Revista de Antropologia. She actively engages in policy dialogues, such as the 2022 Pre-COP4.2 Side Event on mercury and collective rights in Latin America.