Dr. Mario Blaser

Biography

Mario Blaser is a Professor in the Department of Archaeology at Memorial University of Newfoundland. His research interests focus on the concept of ‘infrastructures of emplacement,’ which includes practices, knowledge, and institutions that promote specific connections to place. He aims to strengthen these connections in light of socio-environmental crises often described in the context of the Anthropocene. Blaser studies various aspects of heritage practices and emerging legal frameworks that recognize natural entities as legally empowered to assert rights, thus fostering alternative practices of place. He actively collaborates with both undergraduate and graduate students, supervising or co-supervising research across departments such as Archaeology, Anthropology, and Geography. Blaser holds a PhD from McMaster University, and his previous positions have included serving as a Tier II Canada Research Chair in Aboriginal Studies from 2009 to 2019.

Research Interests