Habitability in Times of Global Crises – Why social and affective dimensions matter

This winter semester, Professor @Martina Padmanabhan from our university is hosting a lecture series exploring the concept of habitability, bringing together different perspectives from economics, philosophy and geography, as well as the social sciences. In her session, she presented the research projects of two former doctoral students from her @WEGO ITN network, revealing how indigenous communities, gender roles, and historical injustices influence what makes a place habitable.

In the video, Professor Padmanabhan, who specialises in Critical Development Studies with a focus on Southeast Asia, explains why the topic of habitability is so urgent.

Want to take a deeper dive? We cordially invite you to attend two forthcoming lectures:
21 Jan 2026 – João de Deus Vidal Junior (@Universität Leipzig) on tropical mountains
4 Feb 2026 – Maan Barua (@University of Cambridge) on the social and ecological consequences of plantations.

Find out more about Professor Padmanabhan’s talk on a feminist political ecology inquiry in India and Indonesia in this report: https://www.digital.uni-passau.de/bei...
#Habitability #GlobalCrises #InterdisciplinaryResearch #FeministPoliticalEcology #Sustainability #CriticalDevelopmentStudies #SocialJustice