Shaila Seshia Galvin

Shaila Seshia Galvin is an Associate Professor in Anthropology and Sociology, specializing in sociocultural anthropology with a focus on agrarian and environmental change. She examines how sustainability practices like organic agriculture and climate mitigation become institutionalized, impacting human-environment relations. Her work bridges environmental governance, development studies, and intersectional inequalities, with regional expertise in India and Canada. Current research explores audit technologies in climate change mitigation through a Swiss National Science Foundation-funded project (2021–2025).

Education: PhD in Anthropology and Environmental Studies from Yale University, MPhil in Development Studies from the University of Sussex (Institute of Development Studies). Courses taught include Environment and Society, Agrarian Worlds, and Development Studies seminars.

Research Interests: Climate change, environmental governance, sustainability, agrarian systems, intersectional inequalities (gender/race/class), and global development. Her book Becoming Organic (2021) analyzes organic certification's socio-economic impacts in Uttarakhand.

Recent Publications: Focus on climate mitigation, organic certification dynamics, and the political life of carbon accounting. Recent articles address global south agrarian movements, trust in agricultural systems, and interdisciplinary critiques of sustainability bureaucracies.

Awards & Grants: Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF) grant for climate mitigation research (2021–2025). No specific awards listed, but sustained academic contributions in critical agrarian studies.

Advising & Grants: Advises doctoral students in development anthropology and environmental policy. Collaborates on projects linking agricultural markets with global governance frameworks.

Labs/Teams: Affiliated with the Hoffmann Centre for Global Sustainability and Albert Hirschman Centre on Democracy, contributing to interdisciplinary sustainability initiatives.