Mining Mineral Life: Extracting the Energy Transition in Southeast Asia
The School of Humanities and NTU Asian School of the Environment at Nanyang Technological University, Singapore, invite applications for postdoctoral research fellows (two and three year positions respectively) to work on the Mining Mineral Life project led by Assistant Professor Adam Bobbette. Positions include fieldwork and conference funding.
The Project
Mining Mineral Life: Extracting the Energy Transition in Southeast Asia examines how mining for energy transition critical minerals is transforming landscapes and livelihoods in Southeast Asia. The project aims to break new empirical and conceptual ground in the understanding of extraction by integrating geoscience, artisanal knowledges, mineral cosmologies, and histories of critical minerals. At the centre of the project is an interrogation of the category of minerality, the distinction between the bio/geo, and new visions of ‘mineral life.’
RESEARCH FELLOW A: 2 YEARS: We are seeking a post-doctoral Research Fellow for a period of 24 months to undertake a research project on the impacts of tin mining on the landscapes and livelihoods of Bangka Island, Indonesia. The role is GIS, remote sensing, geomorphology, and mapping oriented. We welcome proposals that cross boundaries between humanities and geosciences and experiment with geomorphological analysis and techniques.
RESEARCH FELLOW B: 3 YEARS: We are seeking candidates interested in the intersection of the humanities and geosciences and with demonstrated ambitious and creative approaches to scholarship. Successful candidates will develop their own projects while contributing to a stimulating research program including international conferences, seminars, exhibitions, artistic collaborations, and public programming. We ask that candidates propose a research project related to critical mineral extraction in Southeast Asia. Proposals might also engage the following:
- Political geology: Histories and politics of critical mineral extraction, geological surveys, political geology, and economic geology in Southeast Asia. What is the modern history of critical mineral extraction in Southeast Asia? How have geological surveys shaped the region, including conceptions of state spaces, subterranean realms, and national deep time histories? Is there anything new about energy transition critical mineral extraction or is it an extension of much older imperial dynamics? What is the history of the category of critical minerals in Southeast Asia?
- Geo-solidarities: Conceptualising and mapping critical mineral commodity chains, displaced volumes, and landscape change. What forms of geo-solidarity might emerge in critical mineral mining sites? What experimental cartographies can bring together social forces, landscape morphology, and mineral trajectories across deep temporal ranges and contemporary renewable energy technologies.
- Mineral cosmologies: Histories of artisanal mining knowledges, techniques, mineral cosmologies, and craft. What is the history and politics of the distinction between the organic and inorganic in Southeast Asia? What is a decolonial minerality? Are minerals alive? Should the rights of nature be extended to geological materials?
Application deadline: 04 December 2026, 6:00pm
Contact Assistant Professor Adam Bobbette for enquiries: adam.bobbette@ntu.edu.sg