Michelle Lianne Hak Hepburn
Research Area
Education
2021 - Graduate Certificate, Tropical Forest Landscapes: Conservation, Restoration, and Sustainable Use, ELTI, Yale School of the Environment
2016 - MA, Anthropology, University of British Columbia
Thesis Title: Trapping Bears in Algonquin territory: Cultural perceptions in practice
2012 - B.S.Sc (Hons.), Major in Anthropology, Major in Linguistics, University of Ottawa
Research
Research Key Words:
Environmental anthropology, Americas, multispecies ethnography, politics of resource management, forests
Research:
My PhD research, “Thinking with trees to see the forest: Huayruro trees and deforestation in San Martin, Peru,” follows huayruro trees in different forms (as tree, as hardwood, and as seed) across urban and rural spaces in Peruvian Amazonia. Huayruro – as a hardwood tree with seeds that are powerful protective talisman – is an example of how Amazonian people (Indigenous and non-Indigenous mestizos) engage with trees and forests in ways that both allow and restrict deforestation. My research asks: How can we “think with” huayruro to pay attention to the social connections we create with trees and forests?
Publications
Publications:
Tedesco, A. M., P. H. S. Brancalion, M. L. Hak Hepburn, K. Walji, K. A. Wilson, H. P. Possingham, A. J. Dean, N. Nugent, K. Elias-Trostmann, K-V. Perez- Hammerle, J. R. Rhodes. 2022. “The role of incentive mechanisms in promoting forest restoration,” Philosophical Transactions B. https://doi.org/10.1098/rstb.2021.0088
Hak Hepburn, M. 2020. “Protecting Intellectual Property Rights and Traditional Ecological Knowledge: A Critical Look at Peru’s Law 27811,” Human Organization 79(1):69-79. https://doi.org/10.17730/0018-7259.79.1.69
Available in Spanish: https://doi.org/10.18800/anthropologica.202101.005
Kaulard, A., M. Valderrama, A. Chaparro, and M. Hak Hepburn. 2020. “Policy Brief: Hacia una “revolución de todos y todas” de la región San Martín,” Policy Brief N° 2, trAndes Policy Briefing Series. https://www.programa-trandes.net/Ressources/Policy-Papers/trAndeS-Policy-Brief-No_2-Kaulard-et-al.pdf
Blog Posts:
Hak Hepburn, M. 2020. “The Murkiness of the Peruvian Lockdown,” Allegra Lab. July 1. https://allegralaboratory.net/the-murkiness-of-peruvian-lockdown/
Podcasts:
Hak Hepburn, M. 2023. “What Does Anthropology Sound Like: Podcasts,” AnthroPod, the podcast of the Society for Cultural Anthropology. February 16. https://culanth.org/fieldsights/what-does-anthropology-sound-like-podcasts
Rivera-Gonzalez, J., and M. Hak Hepburn. 2022. “What Resilience Does,” AnthroPod, the podcast of the Society for Cultural Anthropology. February 17. https://culanth.org/fieldsights/what-resilience-does
Conference Presentations:
2023. “Measuring and mitigating tropical deforestation: Satellites, drones, and patrols.” Society for Applied Anthropology Annual Conference. Hybrid: Cincinnati, OH. March 28-April 1.
2022. “Cultivating Forests in Peruvian Amazonia.” American Anthropology Association (AAA) Annual Meeting 2022. Hybrid: Seattle, WA. Nov. 9-13.
2022. “Transforming Trees: Reforestation in San Martín.” Society for Applied Anthropology / Society for Ethnobiology Annual Conference. Hybrid: Salt Lake City, Utah. March 22-26. Winner of the Barbara Lawrence Award.
2021. “Informal and/or Illegal: Selective logging and degradation in Peruvian Amazonia.” RAI Anthropology and Conservation Conference. Virtual. October 25-29.
2021. “Tierra o bosque: La historia del Proyecto Especial Huallaga Central y Bajo Mayo.” Visiones de San Martín. Debates sobre el territorio desde las ciencias sociales. Universidad Nacional de San Martín. Tarapoto, Peru. September-October.
2021. “Deforestation in Peruvian Amazonia: How forest definitions dictate policy interventions in San Martin, Peru.” Latin American Studies Association Annual Meeting. Virtual. May 26-29.
2019. “Pensando junto a los arboles para ver el bosque.” Seminario: Visiones de San Martín. Debates sobre el territorio regional con las ciencias sociales. Universidad Nacional de San Martín. Tarapoto, Peru. July 18.
2016. “How to Kill a Bear: Justifications of Bear Death in Ontario, Canada.” American Anthropology Association (AAA) Annual Meeting 2016. Minneapolis, MN. November 18.
2016. “(There are no) Bears on Bloor Street: How living in untamed spaces shapes Northern Ontario perceptions of black bears.” Society for Applied Anthropology (SfAA) Annual Meeting 2016. Vancouver, BC. March 30.
2015. “Patenting Traditional Ecological Knowledge: A critical look at the Peruvian example.” CASCA 2015. Laval University, Québec, QC. May 14.
Awards
2022-2023 – Peter Wall Institute of Advanced Studies Climate Catalyst Fellow
2020, 2022 – UBC Public Scholar
2016-2021 – SSHRC Vanier Canada Graduate Scholarship
2015-2016 – SSHRC Joseph-Armand Bombardier Canada Graduate Scholarship – Masters