The People Behind ESRA
ESRA’s organisational and research activities are carried out by a diverse group of academic and activist volunteers, including ESRA’s Researchers, Steering Committee, and Research Committee.
Dr Amanda Thomas has a PhD in geography and is a lecturer in Environmental Studies at Victoria University of Wellington. Her research is largely grounded with communities, and examines democracy and the ways that environmental politics interact with social justice. more
Dr Anna-Maria Murtola is a Senior Lecturer at Auckland University of Technology where she teaches global political economy. Her research is grounded in the critique of political economy and draws on critical theory, cultural studies, philosophy and sociology. more
Ben Rosamond is an activist, researcher and union official based in Tāmaki Makaurau. His research to date has focused on revolutionary strategy, the place of sovereignty in relation to other models of political organisation, and contemporary critical theory. more
Dr Campbell Jones is a philosopher and sociologist specialising in the analysis and critique of capitalist ideology. He is a Researcher for Economic and Social Research Aotearoa and Associate Professor of Sociology at the University of Auckland. His most recent book is Can the Market Speak? (Zero, 2013). more
Dr Dylan Taylor is a lecturer in Sociology at Victoria University of Wellington and editor of Counterfutures. Dylan has written for academic publications, including Thesis Eleven, Rethinking Marxism and New Zealand Sociology. He is the author of Claiming the Century: The promise of social movements and democracy in the 20th Century. more
Finn is a union organiser with the New Zealand Nurses Organisation, and he co-coordinates ESRA’s Political Organisation Inquiry Group, a collaborative research project addressing the organisational and strategic impasses reproduced by the left in Aotearoa, and possible ways of overcoming them. He has previously taught at the University of Auckland. more
James is a PhD student and activist in Tāmaki Makaurau. He currently works and studies at the University of Auckland. James principally locates his research interests in Marxist politics, economic planning, and continental philosophy. more
Jonathan’s research is concerned with philosophy and political economy. He has taught Sociology at Massey University, and Political Studies, International Relations, and Business at the University of Auckland. more
Nathalie Jaques is a doctoral candidate at the University of Auckland, a member of teaching staff in the department of Sociology and a community activist. Within ESRA, she works as both a researcher and the editorial and publication facilitator. more
Dr Peter King is a sociologist and Principal Researcher with Parallax Research. He brings to ESRA a background in social policy research in the fields of poverty measurement, income distribution, material deprivation, barriers to employment, and social gerontology. more
Shannon is a doctoral candidate at the University of Auckland and teaches critical theory and popular culture in the department of Sociology. His research focuses on continental philosophy, critical theory and the critique of capitalist ideology. more
Vanessa is a researcher and activist specialising in housing and urban planning in Aotearoa. She is an active supporter of the state housing struggle, and an advocate with Auckland Action Against Poverty. She also coordinates ESRA’s Housing Inquiry Group. more