In recent years, large transnational land deals have come to play an increasingly important role in debates about poverty alleviation in the global south and environmental governance in both the south and the north. For some observers, the trans-nationalization of agriculture and forestry, energy resources, and environmental services means a set of new opportunities to address chronic and interlocking problems of underdevelopment and environmental mismanagement in general, and food insecurity, climate change and deforestation in particular. For others, transnational land deals are less an opportunity than a neo-colonial resurgence – a “global land grab” as wealth and power from first-world and emerging economies converge on the “under-used” landscapes of the global south.

This seminar will examine the recent proliferation of transnational land deals in agriculture, energy, and climate change mitigation efforts, and will use these as a window into larger questions about environmental politics and uneven development. Drawing from the environmental social sciences (environmental studies, political ecology, development studies, science & technology studies), the course will introduce students to an analytical toolkit that spans traditional binaries (local-global, technical-political, social-natural, etc.) in order to unpack the complex phenomenon of transnational land access. The seminar will be reading- and discussion-intensive, and will involve a fair amount of writing. It is aimed at students who hope to work in professional development, environmental management or regulation, advocacy or the private sector.