Didier Zuniga

Area of Study / Keywords

Nature Environment Ecology Feminist theories Posthumanism New Materialisms Non-western & non-canonical political theory Comparative political thought

About

I am an Assistant Professor in the Department of Political Science at the University of Alberta. I was previously a Postdoctoral Fellow at the Centre de Recherche en Éthique in Montreal (2022-2023), and a SSHRC Postdoctoral Fellow in the Department of Philosophy at McGill University (2020-2022). I received my PhD in Political Theory from the University of Victoria, British Columbia (2020). I was born and raised in Mexico City.

Research

My research is oriented towards learning from and engaging with alternative ways of relating to the multiplicity of beings, ecosystems, and interconnected webs of life on Earth. My main goal is to extend ethics and politics beyond dominant understandings of ‘the human’, and thus to deparochialize and to ecologize political thought. While my work traverses disciplinary boundaries, it is primarily situated within political theory, with a focus on environmental and ecological thinking, feminist theories, Indigenous politics, disability studies, and critical animal studies, among others. I have also developed a growing interest in comparative political theory, as well as decolonial, anti-colonial, and postcolonial thought. 

I am currently working towards rethinking how to conceive of thought and knowledge beyond the conventionally understood human-animal mind.

Please visit my website for a list of publications. 

Teaching

I am keenly interested in supervising honours and graduate students in political theory, particularly those with a passion for exploring environmental and ecological political thought, as well as ethics and politics beyond 'the human'. I welcome students who draw on critical approaches, especially feminist theories, decolonial, postcolonial, and anti-colonial thought, comparative political theory, disability studies, and critical animal studies. 

In Winter 2025, I will be teaching the following course:

POL S 298: "Sustainability and Care of the Earth" 

This course will focus on the relationship between social systems and ecosystems amidst the pervasive environmental destruction and transformation the Earth is facing. While acknowledging the irreversible damage and large-scale modifications caused by hegemonic social systems, our primary focus will be on exploring ways to sustain life and to maintain its diversity. We will dedicate significant attention to learning from alternative ways of relating to the Earth and to its different human and nonhuman inhabitants. One of our main goals will be to find direction and purpose in the face of unprecedented climate change, mass extinction, and the disruption of planetary life-support systems. These interconnected challenges foster a prevailing sense of meaninglessness—a sentiment reminiscent of Donna Haraway’s description of our epoch as “disturbing times, mixed-up times, troubling and turbid times.” In light of this, we will think deeply about how to connect and resonate with the multiplicity of beings and ecological systems that inhabit the world, and thereby to advocate and care for marginalized voices and experiences—human and nonhuman. Moreover, we will also interrogate and problematize prevalent understandings of what sustainability is and what it is not. Indeed, the notion of ‘sustainability’ has been co-opted into the language of consumerism, commodification, and business-as-usual economic growth, as reflected in the contentious yet widely embraced idea of ‘sustainable development’. In view of this, we will strive to approach sustainability from critical, decolonial, and other transformative perspectives. By doing so, we will aim to deepen our understanding of the ethical foundations and commitments necessary for the harmonious coexistence of human societies and ecosystems.

POL S 298 - Topics in Political Science

A variable content course, which may be repeated if topics vary. Prerequisite: POL S 101 or Department consent.

Browse more courses taught by Didier Zuniga

Theory & Event. 2025 January; 28 (1):120-144 10.1353/tae.2025.a947376

European Journal of Political Theory. 2023 November; 10.1177/14748851231214252

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