photo of Joshua SteckleyThe Department of Political Science welcomes Banting Postdoctoral Fellow Joshua Steckley. Joshua completed his PhD in the Department of Geography at the University of Toronto. His forthcoming book, The Nightcrawlers: A Story of Worms, Cows, and Cash in the Underground Bait Industry, (UC Press) examines the political ecology of the lucrative bait worm industry and tracks how southwestern Ontario accidentally became the ‘worm capital of the world.’ Prior to his academic work, Joshua spent over 5 years in Haiti working with local environmental organizations and promoting local food systems through the production of documentaries, community radio broadcasts and Haitian television commercials. He continues to publish on Haitian rural food systems through a CIHR grant, “Towards a gender-inclusive food sovereignty assessment.”

His Banting research continues to explore the socio-ecological relations inherent in commodifying nonhuman natures, shifting his focus from worms to cows in the North American dairy industry to reveal the contradictions and opportunities in the complex relationships between biotechnology, capital, and agrarian livelihoods.

Joshua will be a speaker at the Panel on Research for Community Innovation on November 4,
3 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. (EDT) Register

More about Joshua’s research