Matthew Abel

Bio

Matthew Abel is a political and economic anthropologist whose research examines the emergence of extractive resource economies in the Americas and their persistent influence on Indigenous and mixed-descendant communities today. His current book project, The Forest and the Factory: Debt, Development, and Community in the Brazilian Amazon, recounts an intergenerational history of environmental justice organizing and the struggle of Amazonia’s farmers, fishers, and agroforesters to transform the failures of 20th century modernization policies into 21st century demands for healthcare, environmental protections, and other forms of social inclusion. He is also interested in comparative histories of colonialism in the Americas and their implications for Indigenous territorial, land, and resource rights.

Abel’s scholarship has appeared in various academic journals, including Cultural Anthropology, Economic Anthropology, and Rural Sociology. This work has been funded by grants and fellowships from the Wenner-Gren Foundation, the US-Brazil Fulbright Commission, and the National Science Foundation.

Research Interests

 Political Economy • Historical Ecology • Food Systems • Ethnohistory • South America (Brazil)

Courses Taught

South America: Culture, Environment, History