Headshot of Ben M. McKay wearing a dark blue shirt with trees in background.

Ben M. McKay

PhD

Positions

Associate Professor

Faculty of Arts, Department of Anthropology and Archaeology

Contact information

Email

ben.mckay@ucalgary.ca

Web presence

Google Scholar

Departmental website

Background

Educational Background

PhD Development Studies, International Institute of Social Studies (ISS) of Erasmus University Rotterdam,

MA International Development Studies, Saint Mary's University,

Bachelor of Arts Mount Allison University,

Biography

Ben McKay is an Associate Professor of Sustainability and Development in the Global Development Studies program, Department of Anthropology and Archaeology. His research focuses on the political economy and ecology of agrarian change in Latin America, agrarian extractivism, agroecology, and food sovereignty alternatives. Ben McKay has carried out research and maintains research interests in Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador and Venezuela. He is an Associate Researcher with Bolivian NGO Fundación TIERRA, part of the coordinating team for the BRICS Initiative for Critical Agrarian Studies (BICAS), and a Co-Convener of the Calgary Institute for the Humanities (CIH) Working Group Rethinking Latin American Studies from the South (RLASS).

Research

Areas of Research

critical development studies, critical agrarian studies, political economy, land politics, food politics, Latin America

Participation in university strategic initiatives

Human dynamics in a changing world

Courses

Course number Course title Semester
DEST 393 Theories & Appl of Development
ANTH 421 Contemporary Latin American Society
DEST 405 Environment and Development
DEST 401 Advanced Topics: The Political Economy and Ecology of Agriculture, Food and the Environment
DEST 402 Global Food Politics
DEST 201 Introduction to Global Development Studies
ANTH 701 Independent Studies: Critical Agrarian Studies

Projects

Seeking sustainable agro-food system alternatives: a comparative analysis of diverse models in Bolivia

My current research investigates the political economy of agroecological transitions in Bolivia.

Awards

  • Insight Development Grant, SSHRC. 2018
  • Insight Grant, SSHRC. 2021
  • GREAT Supervisor Award, Faculty of Graduate Studies, University of Calgary. 2020
  • Connection Grant, SSHRC. 2019
  • Kari Polanyi-Levitt Prize, Canadian Association for the Study of International Development (CASID). 2021

Publications