Research

Originally from Italy, I am an environmental socio-cultural anthropologist. My research interests include human-environment relationships in energy landscapes, deindustrialization processes in oil and gas communities, environmental and energy justice, and multi-species ethnographies. Through the affiliation with DéPOT, I am developing a multi-sited comparative study between Canada and New Zealand, focusing on oil and gas sector changes in both geographic regions.

My current book project titled Fractured Land is based on my previous ethnographic study documenting the sociocultural impacts of hydraulic fracturing in Taranaki, New Zealand, from 1989 to the present. I argue how resource extraction can shape the social fabric of communities, leading to changes in individuals’ sense of belonging to the surrounding landscape as the uncertainties of negative impacts brought by extraction create lingering anxiety and a traumatic crisis of the self as coping strategies. This monograph contributes to highlighting the lingering psychological and emotional responses extractive practices can bring to communities.

In my current research, After oil and gas—A fairer transition for workers: A comparative study of Canada and New Zealand, investigates how renewable energy projects are shaping the  Alberta landscape, how these may or may not impact communities, and the job opportunities created for those involved in the fossil fuel sector to transition to this industry or other sectors. There are, therefore, two main components of this project: 1) to understand the opportunities (or not) renewable development can create for displaced fossil fuel workers, and 2) to understand how communities perceive these renewable energy projects and the social barriers that may limit their acceptance. I emphasize the need to gather as many voices from different backgrounds and perspectives, from farmers to workers, to community members, not-for-profit organizations and conservationists concerned with development, to gain a better grasp of the social changes associated with renewable energy industrialization of agricultural and rural areas.