Brian Klein

Brian Ikaika Klein is an assistant professor at the University of Michigan, jointly appointed in the Department of Afro-American and African Studies and the Program in the Environment. He’s also an associate of UM's African Studies Center, core faculty in its Science, Technology, and Society (STS) Program, and a co-convener of its Political Ecology Workshop (PEW). Brian is a political ecologist interested in environmental governance, resource politics, and rural development with a particular focus on Madagascar and the artisanal and small-scale mining sector. He holds a PhD in environmental science, policy, and management from UC Berkeley, where his work was funded by a National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship and the Berkeley Fellowship for Graduate Study. Brian is currently working on a book manuscript (Everyday Exploitation: Extraction and Accumulation in the Mines of Madagascar) investigating strategies of livelihood production, commoning, wealth accumulation, and capitalist expansion in Madagascar’s goldfields. His research has been published in scholarly outlets including the Journal of Peasant Studies, Journal of Rural Studies, Political Geography, and Geoforum, as well as in edited volumes, online magazines, and policy fora. Prior to entering academia, Brian worked at a range of organizations in Washington, DC, focused on environmental policy and development practice, and served as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Madagascar from 2010-2012. He was born and raised in Hawai‘i—and tries to get back as frequently as possible.