Postdoctoral Affiliate
Background
Julio Rodríguez Stimson is a tri-national citizen of Ecuador, Spain, and the USA. His DPhil research at the University of Oxford centered on the unique challenges confronted by Galapagos farmers, particularly their response to the compounding threats of Covid-19, climate change, and agricultural pests. Based on his year of ethnographic fieldwork, he coined the term 'coexistential rift' to describe the ways in which capitalism manufactures risks that amplify farmers' anxiety and alienation, entrenching them in a vicious cycle of debt and market dependence.
His journey into environmental anthropology began during his Master's research with the Cofán people of the Ecuadorian Amazon. There, he witnessed the Cofán's complex and ambivalent attitudes towards oil exploitation and their struggle to maintain an ideal tranquil life when confronted by external economic pressures. In addition to his academic pursuits, Julio has interned at the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), worked as a communications officer at the Charles Darwin Foundation (CDF), and made films for NGOs in Greece and India. As a videographer for Lindblad Expeditions, he produced over fifty 30-minute films aboard National Geographic ships worldwide. He remains steadfast in his dedication to researching, teaching, and effectively communicating the intricate relationship between humanity and nature.
Doctoral Thesis: Galapagos Farmers and the Coexistential Rift
Research topics: Environmental anthropology, climate change, agriculture, political ecology, Latin America, Galapagos Islands, Amazon Rainforest
LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/julio-rodriguez-stimson/
