Thomas is a social anthropologist based in Australia who completed his MA at Massey University in 2016.
Thomas’ broad interest is in complex environmental problems which require interdisciplinary perspectives to approach, and he has conducted research on interdisciplinarity itself. Thomas holds a BA/BSc in social anthropology/nanoscience, and an MA in social anthropology from Massey University, New Zealand. Recently having finished a fixed term contract as research officer with Te Puna Whakatipu, Massey University, Thomas is a member of the Meech Working Group, an interdisciplinary group of professionals working on sustainable development with regards to extractive industries.
For Thomas, political ecology has strong potential as an integrative framework for interdisciplinary environmental research. His Masters thesis focused on the use of mercury in artisanal and small-scale gold mining in Colombia. Thomas has previously researched and published on the debates around bisphenol-A in New Zealand, an estrogen mimicking chemical found in many common plastics which likely causes a range of negative human and environmental health effects, yet remains largely unregulated. He has also conducted exploratory work for an interdisciplinary research project on on-farm biodiversity in New Zealand. This work regularly overlaps with perspectives from Science and Technology Studies.
Thomas would be very keen to make connections with researchers working in similar fields.
Publications
Robertson, T. J., & Farrelly T. (FORTHCOMING). An ethnography of entanglements: Mercury use in artisanal and small-scale gold mining in Antioquia, Colombia.
Robertson, T.J., Ryan, A., & Goodyer, J. (2017) Catalysing interdisciplinary collaboration in research at Massey University – Discussion Document [internal]: 61p.
Robertson, T.J. (2016). Entanglements and Disentanglements: A Posthuman Approach to Mercury Use in Artisanal and Small-Scale Gold Mining in Antioquia, Colombia. (Master’s thesis). Massey University, Palmerston North, New Zealand.
Robertson, T. J., & Farrelly, T. (2015). Bisphenol A in New Zealand: A basis for discussion. Journal of the Royal Society of New Zealand, 45(4), 184-196.