Monamie Haines
Assistant Professor for Sociology
School of Social Sciences
College of Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences

Monamie Bhadra Haines is an Assistant Professor in Global Science and Technology Studies (Global STS) at Nanyang Technological University. As an STS scholar she is particularly interested in the intersections of activism and the politics of knowledge around energy futures in nonliberal democratic contexts. She is currently writing a book on anti-nuclear activism in India, and is turning her attention to solar energy development in refugee camps. Prior to joining NTU she was a Amercian Council of Learned Societies postdoctoral fellow in Global STS at The Ohio State University. She received her PhD in Human and Social Dimensions of Science and Technology from Arizona State University, and has a BSc (honours) in Geology and a BA in English from the University of Michigan.

Research Statement

I examine the social and political implications of renewable energy technology development and diffusion in low-to-middle-income countries, with an emphasis on on environmental social movements around energy technologies. Drawing on ethnographic methodologies, my research draws theoretical insights from science and technology studies (STS), postcolonial political theory and international development. In particular, I am interested in the politics of technscientific expertise and knowledge, and ask questions such as: What counts as credible, policy-relevant knowledge? How do dominant ways of knowing coincide with particular political orders, and with what exclusions? What kinds of knowledge are left out in dominant discourses, and how might they aid in creating equitable solutions? How is democracy being understood and practiced around renewable energy technologies? To this end, I can help shape technoscientific research agendas to create more equitable and just technologies, and can help scientists and engineers reflect on the values and assumptions embedded in their research, and how their technologies might be received by broader societies.

Research One-liner

In conducting ethnographic investigations of environmental social movements around energy technologies , my research draws theoretical insights from science and technology studies (STS), postcolonial political theory and international development to shed light on the social and political implications of renewable energy technology development and diffusion in low-to-middle-income countries.

Publications

(accepted) Stevens, Hallam and Haines, MB. 2020. “TraceTogether: Pandemic response, democracy, and technology.” East Asian Science, Technology and Society.

Haines, MB and Sarkar, Sreela. 2020. “Sticks, Stones and the Secular Bones of Indian Democracy. Engaging Science, Technology, and Society. (6):133-141.

Haines, MB. 2019. “Contested Credibility Economies of Nuclear Power in India.” Social Studies of Science. 49(1):29-51.

Bhadra, M. 2013. “Fighting Nuclear Power, Fighting for India’s Democracy.” Science as Culture. 22:2, pp 238-246.

Latest Projects

(forthcoming) “Nation-building Civic Epistemologies in India.” in Journal of Responsible Innovation.

Haines, MB. and Sharlissa Moore (Michigan State University). “Technodemocratic Imaginaries of Solar Power in ‘Africa’” under review at Energy Research & Social Science (impact factor 5.525; citation index 5.75)

Haines, MB. and Sharlissa Moore (Michigan State University). “Exporting Technodemocratic Imaginaries of Solar Power to Morocco and Tanzania ” Revised, resubmitted and under review at Science, Technology and Human Values.

“Technopolitical Opportunities and Anti-Nuclear Activism. (under review for a special issue edited by South Asian Studies professor Arafaat Valiani at Science, Technology and Society impact factor .927)

Other affiliation(s)

Expertise
Environmental Studies, Political Science, Public administration, Sociology, Public policy, Science policy

Research Interests
anti-nuclear activism, energy, inequality, politics of knowledge, solar energy

Research Category
Security Studies & Policy Issues, Sociology
Potential NISTH Challenge Statements
Advancing inclusive living and ageing, Social physics, Sociocultural system
Related NTU2025 Research Clusters
Culture, Organisations & Society
Related RIE2025 Domains
Human Health and Potential (HHP)
Related Humanity Grand Challenges
Addressing technology’s impact on humanity
Affiliated Sustainable Development Goals
GOAL 5: GENDER EQUALITY – Gender equality is not only a fundamental human right, but a necessary foundation for a peaceful, prosperous and sustainable world.
GOAL 7: AFFORDABLE AND CLEAN ENERGY – Energy is central to nearly every major challenge and opportunity.
GOAL 10: REDUCED INEQUALITIES – To reduce inequalities, policies should be universal in principle, paying attention to the needs of disadvantaged and marginalized populations.
The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), also known as the Global Goals, were adopted by all United Nations Member States in 2015 as a universal call to action to end poverty, protect the planet and ensure that all people enjoy peace and prosperity by 2030.
Last Updated
13 Apr 2020
Last Updated
06 Jan 2023