Kieren Rudge is a PhD candidate in the Society and Environment Division of the Environmental Science, Policy, & Management Department at UC Berkeley. Their work is grounded in critical race theory, political ecology, and critical Pacific islands studies. Their dissertation focuses on how racialized social-political structures differently impact Pacific communities facing climate injustice. This project uses a collective case study examining marginalization and coalitional climate activism in the state of California and the U.S. territory of Guåhan. This research examines how the distinct legal and political challenges in these locations are entangled with Orientalism, imperial conceptions of islands, and militarization. Parallel to this research, Kieren engages in community-based environmental stewardship and activism with Pacific Islander diaspora groups in the Bay Area and co-leads the Critical Pacific Islands Studies Collective. Before coming to UC Berkeley, Kieren received a Master of Environmental Science from Yale and a Bachelor of Science from Johns Hopkins.
Department and Institution:
Environmental Science, Policy, & Management, UC Berkeley
Bio/CV:
