Dr. Adam Bobbette

Biography

Adam Bobbette is a human geographer and political geologist with expertise in Southeast Asia, particularly Indonesia. He is originally from Canada and has lived in Hong Kong, Indonesia, Australia, and the UK. Bobbette studied history, philosophy, and cultural studies at Trent University and McGill, and later pursued architecture and landscape design at the University of Toronto. He completed his PhD in Geography at the University of Cambridge from 2014 to 2018, followed by post-doctoral research at the University of New South Wales in Sydney under the New Earth Histories research program. His research interests include the history and politics of geological sciences in the 17th century, philosophies of minerals, and planetary theory, particularly in relation to extractivism. Bobbette's current book project, "Earthworks: Political Geology in the Age of Critical Minerals," explores the intersections of biography, speculative mineralogy, and the politics of critical mineral extraction and trade. Another recent publication, "Pulse Earth: Political Geology in Java," examines modern theories of earth that have emerged from the slopes of Indonesian volcanoes. This work demonstrates how earth sciences originate from a fusion of Western and non-Western cosmologies, theologies, and geologies. He has received the 2025 Harry J. Benda Prize for outstanding scholarship in Asian Studies for his book "Pulse Earth."

Research Interests

Experience