Jessica Caporusso

My research considers the intersection of political ecology, science studies and the place of expertise in postcolonial and neocolonial contexts. Broadly speaking, I am interested in the impact of colonial science and imperialism on the cultivation of western and non-western subjects. In particular, my dissertation explores the design and implementation of sustainable development projects in Mauritius, an island-nation in the Indian Ocean, and the influence of colonial-era green imperialism on which these current projects are imbricated. By this I mean to trace how colonial forms of expertise are legitimated and sustained over time—a practice that in turn seems to rely on the continuous (re)production of particular forms of knowledge-making practices. As such, my work is informed by past and contemporary transnational encounters that configure connections between environment, expertise and knowledge exchange.