BIO
Anisah Madden is a political geographer and solidarity / action researcher working to support transformations to agroecological, equitable, and democratically governed food and agriculture systems across scales. As an activist-scholar, Anisah has worked on several interdisciplinary research projects to support grassroots-led capacity building and political engagement in policy advocacy processes. Anisah’s research helps to provide a strong evidence base to support transitions to agroecological food systems, equity and democratic decision-making in policy and practice.
Anisah’s solidarity / action research mobilises facilitation as a transformative participatory methodology that seeks to remedy the exclusion of small-scale food providers from political decision-making spaces, and to make visible and transform inequitable power relations between and within CSOs, social movements, academics and allies (for example, between North-South, generations, cultures, genders, political orientations, and organisational forms).
Anisah is interested in the ways that living and working with the land can help us think about and enact democratic participatory governance differently, guided by the principles of food sovereignty, agroecology, human rights, equity, respect, reciprocity and interdependence. Anisah is guided by a relationalist ethos (see Mary Graham's work) and a deep understanding of, connection with, and sense of co-responsibility to the land and our non-human and human relatives.
Currently a postdoctoral research associate at ÈÕº«ÎÞÂë's Institute for Agroecology, Anisah is working with an interdisciplinary team on a participatory action research project to support regional food governance transformations through the principles of agroecology and the right to food in New England. Project team members: Associate Professor Colin Anderson, Professor Molly Anderson, and Dr Karen Nordstrom.
Anisah is an active member of the an founded by feminist economic geographers J.K. Gibson-Graham of around 400 researchers, activists, artists and others who are interested in ways of enacting new visions of economy, theorizing diverse economies and building more ethical economic and ecological relationships.
Before becoming an academic researcher, Anisah trained and worked as a practical herbalist and agroecological market gardener. She has set up and coordinated a range of food and agriculture cooperatives and community projects, and served on the board of several non-profit organisations.
Publications
Madden, A., MacInnis, J., & Yanes, N. M. (2024). Advocating for food sovereignty in the UN Committee on World Food Security: facilitating young people’s participation in policy making. In Research Handbook on the Sociology of Youth. Eds Judith Bessant, Phillipa Collin & Patrick O’Keefe (pp. 268-285). Edward Elgar Publishing.
Hawkins, G., & Madden, A. (2023). Reducing plastic use: from problems and solutions to problematization. In New horizons for innovation studies: Doing Without, Doing With Less. Eds Frederic Goulet & Dominic Vinck. Edward Elgar Publishing.
Lyne, I., & Madden, A. (2020). Enterprising New Worlds: Social Enterprise and the Value of Repair. Handbook of Diverse Economies. Eds Katherine Gibson and Kelly Dombroski. Edward Elgar Publishing.
Healy, S., Chitranshi, B., Diprose, G., Eskelinen, T., Madden, A., Santala, I., & Williams, M. (2020). Planetary food commons and postcapitalist post-COVID food futures. Development, 1-8.
Madden, A. (2017). Book Review: Food security governance: empowering communities, regulating corporations, by Nora McKeon. Canadian Journal of Development Studies / Revue canadienne d'études du développement.
Madden, A. (2016). Towards More Sustainable Campus Food Systems? Local Procurement and Food Sovereignty at Trent University. The Undercurrent: The Canadian Undergraduate Journal of Development Studies.
Policy publications and reports
Madden, A., & Hawkins, G. (2024). Reviving reuse: reducing single use plastic with reusable container systems. Case Study for Circular Australia.
Brem-Wilson, J., Madden, A., Dias, J., Shatberashvili, E., (2021). A Guide to Facilitation in the Civil Society and Indigenous Peoples’ Mechanism (CSM) for Relations with the UN Committee on World Food Security (CFS).
Madden, A. L., Arora, V., Holmes, K., & Pfautsch, S. (2018). Cool Schools. NSW, Western Sydney University.
Bio
Anisah Madden is a political geographer and solidarity / action researcher working to support transformations to agroecological, equitable, and democratically governed food and agriculture systems across scales. As an activist-scholar, Anisah has worked on several interdisciplinary research projects to support grassroots-led capacity building and political engagement in policy advocacy processes. Anisah’s research helps to provide a strong evidence base to support transitions to agroecological food systems, equity and democratic decision-making in policy and practice.
Anisah’s solidarity / action research mobilises facilitation as a transformative participatory methodology that seeks to remedy the exclusion of small-scale food providers from political decision-making spaces, and to make visible and transform inequitable power relations between and within CSOs, social movements, academics and allies (for example, between North-South, generations, cultures, genders, political orientations, and organisational forms).
Anisah is interested in the ways that living and working with the land can help us think about and enact democratic participatory governance differently, guided by the principles of food sovereignty, agroecology, human rights, equity, respect, reciprocity and interdependence. Anisah is guided by a relationalist ethos (see Mary Graham's work) and a deep understanding of, connection with, and sense of co-responsibility to the land and our non-human and human relatives.
Currently a postdoctoral research associate at ÈÕº«ÎÞÂë's Institute for Agroecology, Anisah is working with an interdisciplinary team on a participatory action research project to support regional food governance transformations through the principles of agroecology and the right to food in New England. Project team members: Associate Professor Colin Anderson, Professor Molly Anderson, and Dr Karen Nordstrom.
Anisah is an active member of the an founded by feminist economic geographers J.K. Gibson-Graham of around 400 researchers, activists, artists and others who are interested in ways of enacting new visions of economy, theorizing diverse economies and building more ethical economic and ecological relationships.
Before becoming an academic researcher, Anisah trained and worked as a practical herbalist and agroecological market gardener. She has set up and coordinated a range of food and agriculture cooperatives and community projects, and served on the board of several non-profit organisations.
Publications
Madden, A., MacInnis, J., & Yanes, N. M. (2024). Advocating for food sovereignty in the UN Committee on World Food Security: facilitating young people’s participation in policy making. In Research Handbook on the Sociology of Youth. Eds Judith Bessant, Phillipa Collin & Patrick O’Keefe (pp. 268-285). Edward Elgar Publishing.
Hawkins, G., & Madden, A. (2023). Reducing plastic use: from problems and solutions to problematization. In New horizons for innovation studies: Doing Without, Doing With Less. Eds Frederic Goulet & Dominic Vinck. Edward Elgar Publishing.
Lyne, I., & Madden, A. (2020). Enterprising New Worlds: Social Enterprise and the Value of Repair. Handbook of Diverse Economies. Eds Katherine Gibson and Kelly Dombroski. Edward Elgar Publishing.
Healy, S., Chitranshi, B., Diprose, G., Eskelinen, T., Madden, A., Santala, I., & Williams, M. (2020). Planetary food commons and postcapitalist post-COVID food futures. Development, 1-8.
Madden, A. (2017). Book Review: Food security governance: empowering communities, regulating corporations, by Nora McKeon. Canadian Journal of Development Studies / Revue canadienne d'études du développement.
Madden, A. (2016). Towards More Sustainable Campus Food Systems? Local Procurement and Food Sovereignty at Trent University. The Undercurrent: The Canadian Undergraduate Journal of Development Studies.
Policy publications and reports
Madden, A., & Hawkins, G. (2024). Reviving reuse: reducing single use plastic with reusable container systems. Case Study for Circular Australia.
Brem-Wilson, J., Madden, A., Dias, J., Shatberashvili, E., (2021). A Guide to Facilitation in the Civil Society and Indigenous Peoples’ Mechanism (CSM) for Relations with the UN Committee on World Food Security (CFS).
Madden, A. L., Arora, V., Holmes, K., & Pfautsch, S. (2018). Cool Schools. NSW, Western Sydney University.