Heather Plumridge Bedi, BA, MSc

PhD Candidate

Heather's research examines how social movements collectively shape discourses and broader protest against a form of industrialization and development in Western India. Her work incorporates theories related to social movements (particularly discourses of protest, political culture, and networks), environmental identities, development, industrialization, and political economy.

Biography

Qualifications

Ph.D Candidate, Human Geography, University of Cambridge, England (2007-Present)
MSc, School of Natural Resources and Environment, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, USA. Thesis: Community Forestry and Poverty Alleviation in the Indian Himalayas (2002)
BA, Diplomacy and World Affairs, Environmental Studies, Occidental College, Los Angeles, USA (2000)
Study Abroad Programs, School for International Training, Tibetan Studies, India, Tibet and Nepal (1999). Comparative Ecology, Ecuador (1998)

Career

Consultant, Amnesty International, London, UK (2009-2010)
Assistant Program Director and Consultant, Global Greengrants Fund, Boulder, USA (2004-2008)
Program Coordinator, International Student Volunteers, United Kingdom, Costa Rica and Romania (2003-2004)
Community Forestry Advisor, Rural Litigation and Entitlement Kendra (RLEK), Dehradun, India (2003)
Independent Environmental Consultant, India and Sri Lanka (2002)
Visiting Scholar, Winrock International India, New Delhi, India (2001)
Research Assistant, Contested Nature: Power, Protected Areas and the Dispossessed. eds. S. Brechin, P. Wilshusen, C. Fortwangler, and P. West. SUNY Press, Ann Arbor, USA (2000-2001)
Program Assistant, The Population and Environment Fellows Program, Ann Arbor, USA (2000-2001)

Awards and Scholarships

Cambridge Political Economy Society Trust Scholar, University of Cambridge (2007-Present)
William Vaughn Lewis Fund, University of Cambridge, Department of Geography, (2008, 2009, 2010)
Phillip Lake Fund, University of Cambridge, Department of Geography (2008, 2010)
Mary Euphrasia Mosley & Worts Travel Funds (2008)
Darwin College Travel Trust, University of Cambridge (2008)
International Institute Travel Grant, Rackham Graduate School, University of Michigan (2000)
Environmental Writing Scholarship, Backpacker Magazine (2000)
Grant for Public Policy, Occidental College (1999)
Richter International Fellowship, Occidental College, Ghana (1998)

Research

Heather's research focuses on how social movements operate and develop their identity in response to religious, political, environmental, development, and economic changes in India. This broader issue is examined at a local scale through research on organizing against industrial enclaves in Western India. Her research demonstrates the possibilities and limitations of social movement mobilization in this democracy and illuminates the spatial ramifications of civil society protest at the local, state, and national levels. Research examines how discourses of protest are formed in response to agency and structural considerations, how these discourses alter the field they negotiate within, and how networks of opportunity arise and facilitate the changing nature of these discourses. Her research further documents the environmental, development and cultural challenges faced by communities affected by industrialization, and how these factors influence their collective organizing identities and approaches.

Publications

Academic and Professional Presentations

Methodological reflections on resistance research in India. Social Movement Scholarship: Perilous Positionings between Academia and Activism session, Association of America Geographers Annual Meeting, Seattle, USA April 2011
Place based resistance to Special Economic Zones. Red Politics and Green Movements, NEST Annual Conference. Maharashtra, India December 2010
Konkan region perspectives on social movement engagement/ disengagement with political parties. Experiencing the state, creating political community: ethnographic reflections panel, South Asia Studies Conference, University of Wisconsin, Madison, October 2009
Comparative discourses of land injustice and governance: social mobilization against special economic zones, Justice, politics and environmental governance session, Royal Geographical Society Conference, August 2009
Demanding action from the state: Social movement protest against industrial enclaves in
India, Community-based Action and NRM in an era of neoliberalism, Workshop,
University of Cambridge, Department of Geography, June 2009
Political fragility and identities of place: opportunistic organizing against SEZs, India SEZ
Politics Workshop, Centre for Policy Research: Delhi, April 2009
The Body as a site of resistance: activism in an era of neoliberalism, The
Body in South Asian Feminism, Feminist Pre-conference, South Asia Studies
Conference, Madison October 2008
Identity, Organizing and Political Change. Identity, representation and power,
Experiencing the state from the margins session, South Asia Studies Conference, University of Wisconsin,
Madison October 2008
Social Movements and Strategies of Organizing, Political Ecology Workshop, Department of Sociology, Delhi School of Economics, Delhi University, March 2008
Tribals, Politics, and Adaptation: strategic social movement change in Jharkhand, Experiencing the state: Marginalized People & the Politics of Development in India Workshop, Department of Geography, University of Cambridge, January 2008
Gender Tools for Grantmaking, Grantmakers Without Borders Annual Meeting, New York, USA June 2007
Facilitating Cross-cultural Working Relationships. Global Greengrants Fund Advisor's Meeting, Bali, Indonesia, February 2007
Working with Local Activists to Enhance Grantmaking, Grantmakers Without Borders Annual Meeting, San Jose, USA, June 2006
Understanding the impact of social change oriented philanthropy, Small Grants Learning Meeting, Amsterdam, Netherlands, June 2006
Community Forestry and Poverty Alleviation in Himachal Pradesh, Seminar on Society and Ecology in the Himalayas, Indian Institute of Advanced Studies, Shimla, India, November 2002
Non-timber forest products and Livelihoods, International Center for Community Forestry at the Indian Institute of Forest Management, Bhopal, India, December 2002
Community Forestry and Development in the Indian Himalayas (poster), South Asian Studies Conference, University of Wisconsin, Madison, USA October 2001

Teaching

Guest Lecturer, Undergraduate Geographical Tripos Part II: Contemporary India: The Politics of Society, Environment and Development, University of Cambridge (2011)
Guest Teacher, Certificate Program in International Development: Social Movements, Institute of Continuing Education, University of Cambridge (2007, 2010)
Supervisor, Undergraduate Geographical Tripos: Part 1A: Society, Environment and Development, University of Cambridge (2009-10)
Graduate Student Instructor, Environmental Policy Course, University of Michigan, School of Natural Resources and Environment (2002)
Graduate Student Instructor, Culture, Adaptation and Environment Course, University of Michigan, School of Natural Resources and Environment and Anthropology Department (2001)

External activities

Workshop Co-organizer, Community-based Action and NRM in an era of Neoliberalism, University of Cambridge, Department of Geography, Society, Environment and Development Cluster, June 19, 2009 http://www.geog.cam.ac.uk/research/sed/events/
Member, American Association of Geographers
Member, British Association of South Asian Studies
Member, International Women's Group
Member, Women Organizing for Change in Agriculture and Natural Resource Management (WOCAN)