Penelope Anthias
Dr. Penelope Anthias

Dr. Penelope Anthias

Associate Professor in Human Geography, Durham University
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My research examines struggles around indigeneity, territory and the politics of resource extraction in Latin America. This work is grounded in a decade and a half of engaged ethnographic research in Bolivia’s Chaco region.

  • Upcoming: I am preparing to shoot her latest documentary (in collaboration with Bolivian filmmaker Luciana Decker Orozco), focusing on the struggle for legal recognition of a Guaraní community impacted by new gas development in and around Bolivia’s Tariquía National Reserve. Stay tuned for further updates!.

  • February 2025: The Special Issue Leaks: The Politics of Awkward Circulations in Latin America’s Geographies of Energy Production, co-edited by Penelope with Maria Cariola Ericksson, Stine Krøijer, and Mattias Borg Rasmussen, is now out!

  • February 2025: My individual paper, Cuts, Flows, and Leaks: Enclaving Practices and Countertopographies at Bolivia's Hydrocarbon-Conservation Frontier, interrogates the spatial practices and politics involved in remaking Bolivia's protected areas as territories of extraction, focusing on the ongoing conflict over natural gas development in the Tariquía National Reserve of Flora and Fauna.

  • February 2025: I recently gave a talk about my work at Cafe Biocultural, Tarija City, Bolivia, followed by a lively debate on extractivism and resistance with local participants. For photos and more details about the event, please visit the Public Engagement page.

  • 9 November 2024: I testified in a Bolivian court hearing in defence of community members from Chiquiacá Canton in Bolivia’s Tariquía Reserve, who are facing criminal charges for obstructing the entry of oil companies Petrobras and YPFB into their communities without prior consultation and contrary to a recent vote by local peasant unions. My documentary Don’t Touch Tariquía was presented as evidence in the case, which it is hoped will pave the way for an appeal to the Inter-American Court of Human Rights.

Don't Touch Tariquia: The Resistance of Chiquiacá

This film explores a community's struggle to protect their land and livelihood from damaging oil exploration in the Tariquía Reserve, organizing protests and resistance to safeguard their environment and future.

La Casa Nueva (The New House)

This film tells Judith's story near the Ariguanabo textile factory, highlighting her struggles with inadequate housing and her commitment to improving her living conditions while caring for her family.