Dr. Sara Brouwer

Biography

Sara Brouwer is an assistant professor at Utrecht University's Department of Human Geography and Spatial Planning. She specializes in human geography with a focus on (postcolonial) agri-food systems development, food security, food justice, and urban food environments. Sara completed her BSc in Human Geography and went on to pursue an MSc in Environment, Culture, and Society at the University of Edinburgh, where she also obtained her PhD in Human Geography. Her doctoral research, funded by the Perfect Storm Interdisciplinary Doctoral Training Scholarship from the Leverhulme Trust, was based on ethnographic qualitative fieldwork. It explored urban foodways and foodscapes within the context of postcolonial agrarian histories and socio-ecological imaginaries in urban Zimbabwe. Sara's work challenges dominant food security frameworks by providing a nuanced understanding of the everyday social and cultural meanings and practices of food as constructed over time and space in high-density towns in Zimbabwe. She has received funding for her current research on migration and food in inclusive cities through a grant from UU Migration and Societal Change. In addition, Sara was awarded a teaching and research grant from UCU to promote inclusive pedagogy. Her teaching encompasses various subjects within human geography, African studies, environmental sociology, political geography, and research design.

Research Interests

Experience