Karen Rignall

Karen Rignall is a cultural anthropologist and associate professor at the University of Kentucky. Her research examines just energy and economic transition in rural mountain zones, with a focus on agrarian change, rural politics, land rights and natural resource governance in both North Africa and the central Appalachian region of the US. She has conducted ethnographic fieldwork and multi-disciplinary collaborations informed by economics, political ecology, and critical energy studies. Dr. Rignall is currently doing community-based research comparing the social dynamics of mining and renewable energy in Morocco; this work is transitioning into the establishment of a natural resource observatory in coalition with community members and civil society networks . Her work on energy and economic transition in the Appalachian US also addresses the legacy of mining for renewable energy transitions, supporting grassroots networks rooted in rural communities and their visions for vibrant, egalitarian futures.