Zeynep Oguz

Zeynep Oguz is a Lecturer in Anthropology of Development at the University of Edinburgh, specializing in environmental anthropology and political geology. Her work examines intersections between earthly forces and political projects through energy transitions, fossil fuel extraction, and artistic methodologies.

• PhD in Anthropology from CUNY (2019)
• Postdoctoral Fellow at Northwestern University (2019-2021)
• Senior Postdoctoral Scholar at University of Lausanne (2021-2023)

Her research focuses on extractive politics, energy transitions, and arts-based methods across Turkey, Cyprus, and the United States. She explores how artistic practices like counter-mapping and speculative storytelling can intervene in environmental futures and land memory processes.

Recent publications analyze oil geographies, coal-to-renewable energy transitions, and right-wing environmentalisms using political anthropology and environmental humanities frameworks. Her work appears in Cultural Anthropology, Environmental Humanities, and Political Geography.

As co-convenor of the Edinburgh Environmental Humanities Network and co-director of the MSc in Data, Inequality and Society, she facilitates interdisciplinary collaborations addressing ecological challenges through critical theory and creative practice.