Professor of Environment and Sustainability Political Ecology, Science and Technology Studies, Critical Environment & Geopolitics, Health and Environment, East Africa, Drylands, Wildlife
About
Bilal Butt is a Professor in the School for Environment and Sustainability at the University of Michigan. He is a faculty affiliate of the Center for Global Health Equity, the African Studies Center, the Science, Technology and Society Program, and the Science, Technology and Public Policy Program at the University of Michigan. He is also a visiting research scientist at Aga Khan University in Nairobi, Kenya.
His research sits at the intersection of environmental justice and critical political ecology. His current projects include: the environmental politics of racial conservation, climate coloniality, the effects of climate change on pastoral human health in dryland Africa, and the consequences of the growing datafication of the environment.
Prof. Butt received the National Science Foundation’s CAREER Award, the Kwadwo Konadu-Agyemang Distinguished Scholar Award in African Geography from the Association of American Geographers, and the Superior Teaching Award from the University of Michigan. Prof. Butt has also been recognized by undergraduate students and the Provost’s office for efforts to advance global engagement.
He has published in diverse journals, including the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, the Annals of the Association of American Geographers, Political Geography, Remote Sensing of Environment, Journal of Applied Ecology, and Humanity.
He teaches courses on Environmental Data Justice (EAS 501.123), Conservation Justice (EAS 542), Political Ecology and Environmental Violence Conflict (EAS 577), Environmental Governance (EAS 510), and Preparing for International Fieldwork (630).
Prof. Butt's research group, the critical environmental politics research group, brings together undergraduate, graduate, and postdoctoral scholars from around the world to advance critical and applied research that contributes to environmental justice in different contexts.
