Which forms of life are acknowledged or made disposable when the pursuit of sustainability is channeled through the mediums of technology and science? Moreover, what types of tensions emerge from these differing approaches to recognition and elision of life (or non-life)? To answer these questions, I engage in an ethnography of emergent indigenous life and mobilization as the Philippine and Indonesian governments construct future smart and sustainable capitals to replace their current administrative centers (Manila and Jakarta), both of which are projected to be underwater due to climate change.
These questions serve as the cornerstone of my ongoing postdoctoral work and have consistently been central themes throughout my academic journey. I have received formal training inn social anthropology, cultural sociology, and indigenous people’s studies. My research interests span from indigeneity as a form of recognition and social movement to biopolitics, postcolonialism, environmental humanities, and the Anthropocene.