Dr. Mateusz Laszczkowski

Biography

Mateusz Laszczkowski is a social anthropologist with a sustained interest in the mutually constitutive relations between human politics, infrastructure, and more-than-human material environments. He has engaged with a range of ethnographic foci in diverse locations during his academic career. His doctoral project (2007-2012) concentrated on the experiences of social architectural change faced by residents of Astana, the capital of Kazakhstan, which is undergoing rapid transformation. This research culminated in the publication of his book, 'City Future: Built Space, Modernity, Urban Change Astana' (Berghahn Books, 2016). Since 2013, Laszczkowski has focused on the TAV movement, which resists the construction of a high-speed railway in the Valsusa valley of the Italian Alps. His work explores the complex relationships between territory and progressive political struggles. Currently, he is finalizing a book manuscript based on his latest research. Laszczkowski is also coordinating a project with undergraduate students from the University of Warsaw, examining the experiences of residents in a rural area of Poland facing eviction for a proposed mega-airport. His research interests have evolved to include multi-species ethnography, integrating his work as an anthropologist with his commitment to environmental activism. At present, he is involved in a pilot research project on human-beaver collaboration to create 'natural infrastructure' in response to climate change challenges, part of a team research grant focusing on more-than-human resistance in the Anthropocene, funded by Charles University, Prague.

Research Interests

Experience

Awards