Dr Alessandra Marino

Senior Lecturer

alessandra.marino@open.ac.uk

Biography

Professional biography

I work at the intersection of scholarship on environmentalism, ethics and justice, exploring how these issues are articulated in relation to extreme environments on Earth and beyond. My research is located within AstrobiologyOU, where I look at how postcolonial and decolonial studies contribute to debates on knowledge production within space science and exploration. With reference to lunar exploration, I am studying theoretical and practical issues related to the designation of sites of scientific, environmental and cultural interest. I am PI of MoonRISE: Re-Imagining Space Environments, a UKRI-funded project (value £1.2m) looking at sustainable and equitable lunar governance.

My research on environmental monitoring explores how space technologies are used by historically oppressed communities to further their own priotities. I have been a Co-PI of the UKSA-funded projects DETECT (2020-2021) and SMART (2021-2) and I am involved in other projects on space research and policy.

I hold a PhD in Postcolonial and Cultural Studies awarded by the University of Naples, L’Orientale (Italy); my doctoral work looked at appropriations and adaptations of Shakespeare in India and led to the publication of the edited volume Shakespeare in India (Editoria e Spettacolo, 2012). In my postdoctoral research, I continued working on the relationship between literary productions and politics in the ERC-funded project 'Citizenship after Orientalism' led by Engin Isin. My monograph Acts of Angry writing (Wayne State University Press, 2015) is based on fieldwork in tribal areas in Northern India. It looks at the limits of theorising political subjectivity within citizenship studies and demonstrates how big infrastructural projects, like the Sardar Sarovar mega-dam, and the constraints of the postcolonial legal systems have marginalised Indigenous communities. More broadly, I have published on gender, citizenship, and visual arts.

Research interests

My research interests are in Postcolonial Theory; Feminist Philosophy of Science; Critical Development Studies; Inclusive Innovation; Citizenship Studies.

Teaching interests

I have contributed to the D325 module, working on the politics of knowledge production; DST216 in Environmental Studies.

Projects

Landscape Sensor-based Monitoring Assessment using Remote Technologies

Enhancing community-led malaria control in escalating climatic disruptions through automated cross-scalar environmental information systems

Mosquito-borne diseases have a major impact on developing countries. In 2018, there were an estimated 228 million cases and 405,000 deaths from malaria alone. DETECT will integrate satellite, air-borne and ground-based sensing to detect where mosquitoes are most likely to breed. Through satellite communications, our system will then dispatch ‘sprayer drones’ to these high-risk areas to release biocontrol agents - killing mosquito larvae without affecting other species. The Discovery Phase will co-design a community-based service with the Indigenous community of Yupukari, Guyana, and engage stakeholders from within Guyana and beyond in planning for outscaling.