Michael Cary

Michael is a Ph.D. Candidate in Development Studies in Cornell’s Department of Global Development. He is also pursuing a minor in Latin American and Caribbean Studies. He is broadly interested in political ecology, critical agrarian studies, and state formation with a regional focus on South America. His dissertation research focuses on monoculture expansion, water governance, and land politics in southern Paraguay, where industrial-scale irrigated rice cultivation is rapidly transforming the region’s wetlands and the livelihoods of those that inhabit them. Prior to coming to Cornell, Michael received a B.A. in Sociology and American Studies from the University of Virginia and an M.A. in Latin American and Caribbean Studies from New York University, where he wrote his thesis on the politics of food sovereignty in Bolivia. He also lived for four years in Argentina, where he organized educational exchange programs. Michael works with Wendy Wolford (chair), Jenny Goldstein, Fouad Maaki, and Tom Perrault (Syracuse University). When not buried in the library he enjoys nature photography, basketball, cooking, and gardening.