Be Stone’s work examines the interplay between the symbolic and the material in political discourse, considering how the cultural resonances of key terms influence public policy outcomes.

Lauren Baker investigates the politics of garbage. She shows how authoritarian states seek to “sanitize” and depoliticize contentious issues like waste at sites of global environmental governance.

Ronay Balkan studies political violence, urban politics, and critical methodologies to explore spatialities of everyday warfare with a focus on the Kurdish politics within South West Asia and North Africa. 

Ethan Tupelo’s work draws connections between local waste practices and transnational environmental destruction, challenging dominant narratives about technological progress and sustainability.

Osman Balkan studies how migratory experiences shape racialized identities and is broadly interested in how societies grapple with diversity and difference.

Yuna Blajer de la Garza is a political theorist studying inequalities and oppression in democratic societies by focusing on the interactions between formal political institutions, the ideals that undergird them, and everyday practices and norms.

Kevin Funk is an interdisciplinary political economist and Latin Americanist whose research sheds light on how the region’s cultural geographies and built spaces are both shaped by, and give shape to, various kinds of global flows.