Penn Calendar Penn A-Z School of Arts and Sciences University of Pennsylvania

Matt Barlow

Postdoctoral Research Fellow

Matt Barlow is a cultural anthropologist interested in how situated socio-ecological imaginaries influence responses to planetary crises. His doctoral research project demonstrated how different understandings of monsoonal wetness influenced approaches to waste infrastructure in Kochi, India. This research contributes to several debates within cultural anthropology, critical geography, postcolonial studies, and the environmental humanities. As Climate Postdoctoral Research Fellow at CASI, Matt is working on his first book titled Weathering Waste, while also contributing to Nikhil Anand's project "Stories of Climate Action: Negotiating Planning in Mumbai's Wetscapes."

Matt completed his Ph.D. in Anthropology with Dean's Commendation from The University of Adelaide in 2023, the same year he completed a 9-month Postdoctoral Research Fellowship at the University of St. Andrews on the project "Toward a Political Ecology of Volume." Between 2019 and 2022, Matt was a contributing producer for the Conversations in Anthropology podcast, as well as an active member of the TopEndSTS research collective based in Darwin, Australia. You can learn more about Matt’s academic and creative work at his website and find him on social media with the handle @materialbarlow.