Marien González Hidalgo

I am a researcher at the Department of Urban and Rural Development of the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences.

I am inspired by critical engagements with feminist political ecology, environmental justice and social movements research and action-research. I am especially interested in the analysis of the role that affect, emotions and healing practices play in environmental disasters, conflicts and mobilizations. 

I received a four-year Mobility Grant of FORMAS, the Swedish Research Council for Environment, Agricultural Sciences and Spatial Planning for the project “Learning from forest fires: Analysing unequal impacts, well-being and local knowledge and action” (2021-2024) with collaborations as visiting scientist/fellow at Universitat Pompeu Fabra (Spain), Universidade Santiago de Compostela (Spain) and Universidad de la Frontera (Chile).

I support and participate of critical and collective writing projects beyond neoliberal academia such as the blog Undisciplined Environments and the Spanish Journal Ecología Política. 

I am invited annually to give lectures associated to my research expertise in the following universities and institutions: 

·       SLU, Master Degree in Rural Development and Natural Resources

·       Institute of Environmental Science and Technology (ICTA) at the Autonomous University of Barcelona (UAB), master Degree in Political Ecology. Degrowth and Environmental Justice

·       Pompeu Fabra University, Barcelona, Master and Bachelor degree in Political Science

·       Complutense University and Grupo de Acción Comunitaria, Madrid, Degree in Mental Health in Contexts of Political Violence and Disasters

I hold a PhD from the Institute of Environmental Science and Technology (ICTA) at the Autonomous University of Barcelona (UAB) in Spain. My PhD focused on the political ecology of environmental conflicts in Latin America and the role that emotions play in such processes. My PhD was funded by the Marie Curie ITN project ENTITLE (the European Network of Political Ecology), where I was based at the Geography Department at the University of Chile for two years.

Previous to my PhD degree, I completed a Master in Environmental Studies- specialization in Ecological Economics at the Institute of Environmental Science and Technology (ICTA) at the Autonomous University of Barcelona (UAB). My initial training is in environmental sciences (Universidad Autónoma de Madrid)

I am also trained as a Gestalt therapist (Institut Gestalt and Equipo Centro) and as a group facilitator (Altekio). 

PhD students supervised

I am part of the supervising committee of Isabeau Ottolini, a PhD Candidate at the UOC and Early Stage Researcher in the PyroLife Innovative Training Network working on Inclusive Risk Communication within the context of wildfires. I am also co-supervisor for Felipe A. Maurelia Burgos, PhD candidate on Social Sciences in Universidad de la Frontera, Araucanía, Chile. 

Master students supervised (till January 2024)

Miriam Knödler. Profit over subsistence? – The Role of University and Industry in Sweden in Negotiating Alternative Concepts of Forests. Master in Agroecology. Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences. Thesis Defence: September 2023. 

Byron Alejandro Gálvez Campos. The Role of Emotions in Ontological Conflicts: A Case of Study of the Territorial Conflict Between the State of British Columbia, the Coastal GasLink, and the Wet’suwe’ten. Master in Sustainable Development. University of Uppsala. Sweden. Thesis Defence: September 2021. 

Finn Rogge. Digging for Common Ground– Exploring the Similarities between Alternative Farming Methods and Traditional Ecological Knowledge. Master in Rural Development and Natural Resource Management. Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences. Sweden. Thesis Defence: June 2021. 

Lisa Karlsson. Fire shed light – A narrative analysis of how media framed the 2018 wildfire in Sweden. Master Rural Development, Agriculture Programme. Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences. Sweden. Thesis Defence: June 2021. 

Noortje Wauben. Experiencing and responding to climate change in the Andes: campesino experiences with – and Responses to – changes in the climate in the Andean highlands of Southern Ecuador. SLU, Dept. of Urban and Rural Development. Thesis Defence: June 2020. 

Saskia Bertolini. Thesis title: Intersectionality analysis of climate change in Netherlands. Co-supervision with Claudio Cattaneo and Mara Ferrari. Master in Environmental Studies, ICTA, Autonomous University of Barcelona. Thesis Defence: September 2019. 

Felipe Aedo.  Thesis title: The Political Ontology of Water Scarcity and Tree Plantations in Mapuche Communities of Southern Chile. Co-supervision with Giorgos Kallis. Master in Environmental Studies. ICTA, Autonomous University of Barcelona. Thesis Defence: February 2018. 

PUBLISHED PEER REVIEWED ARTICLES IN INDEXED JOURNALS

González‐Hidalgo, M. (2023). Affected by and affecting forest fires in Sweden and Spain: A critical feminist analysis of vulnerability to fire. Sociologia Ruralis.

Cidrás, D., & González-Hidalgo, M. (2022). Defining invasive alien species from the roots up: Lessons from the ‘De-eucalyptising Brigades’ in Galicia, Spain. Political Geography, 99, 102746.

González-Hidalgo, M., Del Bene, D., Iniesta-Arandia, I., & Piñeiro, C. (2022). Emotional healing as part of environmental and climate justice processes: Frameworks and community-based experiences in times of environmental suffering. Political Geography, 98, 102721.

Arora-Jonsson, S.; Pierce Colfer, C.; González-Hidalgo, M., 2021. Seeing the Quiet Politics in Unquiet Woods: A different vantage point for a future forest agenda. Human Ecology, 1-12.

González-Hidalgo, M., 2020. The Ambivalent Political Work of Emotions in the Defence of Territory, Life and the Commons. Environment and Planning E, 2514848620961737.

Banoub, D., Bridge, G., Bustos, B., Ertör, I., González-Hidalgo, M., & de los Reyes, J, 2020. Industrial Dynamics on the Commodity Frontier: managing time, space and form in mining, forestry and fishing. Accepted with minor revisions, Environment and Planning E, 2514848620963362.

González-Hidalgo, M., López-Dietz, S., & Pacheco-Pailahual, S., 2019. El sentipensar extractivo colonial: geografías emocionales de la extracción en Gülumapu, el territorio mapuche en el sur de Chile. Journal of Latin American Geography, 18(3), 85-109.

González-Hidalgo, M., & Zografos, C., 2019. Emotions, power, and environmental conflict: expanding the 'emotional turn' in political ecology. Progress in Human Geography. Published online.

González- Hidalgo, M., 2018. Disciplina emocional como estrategia de prevención de incendios: el caso de las plantaciones forestales en el sur de Chile. Perspectivas Rurales Nueva Época, 16 (31), 117-141

González-Hidalgo, M., 2017. The politics of reflexivity: Subjectivities, activism, environmental conflict and Gestalt Therapy in southern Chiapas. Emotion, Space and Society, 25, 54-62.

González-Hidalgo, M., & Zografos, C., 2017. How sovereignty claims and “negative” emotions influence the process of subject-making: Evidence from a case of conflict over tree plantations from Southern Chile. Geoforum, 78, 61-73.

González-Hidalgo, M., Otero, I., Kallis, G., 2014. Seeing beyond the smoke: the political ecology of fire in Horta de Sant Joan (Catalonia). Environment and Planning A, 46(5), 1014-1031.

BOOK CHAPTERS 

González-Hidalgo, M., Cidrás, D., Evans Pim, J., forthcoming.  Uprooting monocultures, re-rooting the commons: Everyday struggles against eucalyptus tree plantations in rural Galicia. Accepted chapter for the co-edited book Insurgent Ecologies, edited by the Undisciplined Environments collective. 

González-Hidalgo, M., 2022. The forests in Mapuche territory: From native forests to tree monocultures in southern Chile. Photograph Book by Ritual-Habitual. 

González-Hidalgo, M., and Dietz, S., 2019. Las múltiples y sistemáticas violencias asociadas al extractivismo forestal en Wallmapu. Anuari del Conflicte Social, 9. Universitat de Barcelona.

González-Hidalgo, M., 2019. Politics as therapy, therapy as politics? Contributions and challenges of Gestalt Therapy interventions in the context of social and environmental injustices. In Kato, J., Klaren, G., Levi, N (eds). Supporting Human Dignity in a Collapsing Field. Gestalt approach in the social and political contexts. ISBN: 978-88-989-1223-0

González-Hidalgo, M., 2016. Struggling for land and water: resistances to tree plantations in Southern Chile. In Beltrán, M.J., Kotsila, P., García, G., Velegrakis, G. and Velicu, I. (eds) Political Ecology for Civil Society, 37-43. ISBN:9788894071467. ENTITLE Project.

González-Hidalgo, M. 2012. Contextualización cuantitativa del consumo en España. Cambio Global 2020/2050. Consumo y estilos de vida. Centre de Recerca i Informació al Consum, Centro complutense de estudios e información ambiental. Accessible here.

González-Hidalgo, M. Puig, I., 2018. “Actualización de propuestas de fiscalidad ambiental para los principales grupos ecologistas estatales”. (Environmental taxation proposals for the main Spanish environmental groups). ENT. https://www.seo.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/PROPUESTAS-DE-FISCALIDAD-AMBIENTAL-ONGENERO-2019.pdf

González-Hidalgo, M. 2016. “The limits of forest governance: Forest fires as challenges when producing mono-cultural natures. Lessons from cases in Spain and Chile”, ENTITLE Policy Brief. Accessible here.

González-Hidalgo, M. 2015. “¿Agua para quién? Escasez hídrica y plantaciones forestales en la Provincia de Arauco”. (Water for whom? Water scarcity and forest plantations in the Province of Arauco). Collaboration with NGO “Ingenieros Forestales por el Bosque Nativo” (Forest Engineers supporting the Native Forest). Accesible here.

González-Hidalgo, M. 2012. “Alimentos Kilométricos. Las emisiones de CO2 por la importación de alimentos al Estado español” (Food Miles. CO2 Emissions from the importation of food into the Spanish State). Friends of the Earth Spain, University of Seville, University of Vigo. Accessible here.

PEER REVIEWED ARTICLES IN NON- INDEXED JOURNALS AND POPULAR MEDIA WRITING 

González-Hidalgo, M., 2023. Forest sovereignty against the expansion of tree monocultures, in conversation with Joám Evans Pim and Pablo Reyes Huenchumán. https://undisciplinedenvironments.org/2023/09/19/forestsovereignty; https://undisciplinedenvironments.org/2023/09/21/exercising-forest-sovereignty-from-the-walmapu-mapuche-territory-interview-with-pablo-reyes-huenchuman/. 

González-Hidalgo, M. & Piñeiro, C., 2020. Ecología política, feminista y emocional: por qué y para qué hablar de emociones y afectos en las situaciones actuales de cambio y conflicto socioambiental. Papeles de relaciones ecosociales y cambio global, (152), 83-100.

González-Hidalgo, M. 2019. Despatriarcalizar el ecologismo y ecologizar el feminismo. Entrevista a la Comisión de Ecofeminismos de Ecologistas en Acción-Madrid (Depatriarcalize ecology and ecologize feminism. Interview with the Commission of Ecofeminisms of Ecologists in Action-Madrid). Ecología Política, 58. Icaria & Fundació ENT, Barcelona.

González-Hidalgo, M., 2018, “Ecología y 8M” (Ecología and 8M- feminist demostration in Spain), https://ent.cat/ecologia-i-8m/?lang=es

Danta las Canta; González-Hidalgo, M.; Herrero, A.; Mingorría, S. (eds). 2017. Ecofeminismos y ecologías políticas feministas (Ecofeminisms and feminist political ecologies). Ecología Política, 54. Icaria & Fundació ENT, Barcelona.

González- Hidalgo, M., 2017, ¿Qué se debe aprender de los incendios forestales en el centro sur de Chile? (What should we learn from forest fires in south-central Chile?) http://www.elciudadano.cl/medio-ambiente/que-se-debe-aprender-de-los-incendios-forestales-en-el-centro-sur-de-chile/03/13/

García-López, G; González-Hidalgo, M.; Walter, M (eds) 2016. Ecologia Política en Latinoamérica (Political Ecology in Latin America). Ecología Política, 51. Icaria & Fundació ENT, Barcelona.

González-Hidalgo, M., Ràfols, R., & Ertör, I. 2016. “Somos un altavoz”. Una entrevista a Manu Chao (“We are a loudspeaker”. Interview to Manu Chao). Ecología política, 51, 53-58. Icaria & Fundació ENT, Barcelona.

González-Hidalgo, M. 2015. Ambiente mortal (Deadly Environment). Ecología política, 49, 112-115. Icaria & Fundació ENT, Barcelona.

González- Hidalgo, M., & Schaeffer, C., 2015. “Por qué la Ecología Política” (Why Political Ecology) at Revista Rufián (23) Naturaleza y sociedad. Dinámicas de poder en un contexto neoliberal (Nature and society. Dynamics of power in a neoliberal context), http:// rufianrevista.org/?portfolio=por-que-la-ecologia-politica

González- Hidalgo, M., 2015, Organización popular y campesina frente a la minería en Chiapas (Popular and peasant organization against mining in Chiapas), https:// entitleblog.org/2015/08/20/organizacion-popular-y-campesina-frente-a-la-mineria-en-chiapas/

González- Hidalgo, M., 2014, El persistir en la resistencia ante el avance de las forestales en Arauco (Persisting in resistance to the advance of tree plantations in Arauco) https:// verdeseo.wordpress.com/2014/07/17/el-persistir-en-la-resistencia-ante-el-avance-de-las-forestales-en-arauco/142.

González- Hidalgo, M., 2014, La expresión de lo político en los incendios forestales (The political at forest fires) http://olca.cl/articulo/nota.php?id=104355

González- Hidalgo, M., 2014, The story of the stairs, http://entitleblog.org/2015/02/05/the-story-of-the-stairs-2/

González-Hidalgo, M., 2014, Historia de una escalera, https://verdeseo.wordpress.com/2015/02/07/historia-de-una-escalera/

González- Hidalgo, M., 2014, Emotional Political Ecology – Personal being political and vice-versa https:// entitleblog.org/2014/08/04/emotional-political-ecology-personal-being-political-and-vice-versa/

González-Hidalgo, M., Fonk, M., & Toledo, G., 2013. Diversidad y biodiversidad como ejercicios de autonomía: alternativas locales ante el impacto de la industria forestal en Chile (Diversity and biodiversity as autonomy exercises: local alternatives to the impact of the forest industry in Chile). Ecología Política, 46, 73-77. Icaria & Fundació ENT, Barcelona.

For more information, please see my Google Scholar Profile and my Researchgate Profile.