The Environmental Studies Research Group is focused on developing theoretical and empirical research in disciplines such as philosophy, sociology, anthropology, criminology, linguistics, art theory, heritage studies, and others. Our goal is to contribute to the understanding of ecological–social transformations and to open up new interpretative frameworks for analysing different aspects of the current socio-ecological crisis.

ekoloske.studije@ifdt.bg.ac.rs

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PUBLICATIONS

Lithium Mining and Environmental (In)justice (2025)

The Environmental Studies Research Group focuses on the socio-ecological crisis and its consequences for humans, other species, and the environment. It develops a wide range of theoretical and empirical research to critically examine existing social frameworks and present alternatives as a response to environmental disasters. The group’s approach is characterised by transversal linking of different disciplines dealing with ecological-social discourses grouped into five problem areas:

 

Critical-Theoretical Frameworks

Through the lens of political ecology, studies of extractivism, environmental and climate justice, environmental criminology, critical social theory, and posthuman theory, this problem area addresses power relations, ways of managing and exploiting natural resources, the post-anthropocentric world, as well as historical processes shaping contemporary environmental transformations and the resulting social inequalities.

 

Socio-Cultural Dimensions of Ecology

Drawing on ecological anthropology, sociology,  ecophilosophy, degrowth/post-growth theories, ecofeminism, ecolinguistics, and sociolinguistics together with critical discourse studies, we explore how environmental changes are embedded in ideologies, cultural patterns, lifestyles, gender relations, language practices, ethical frameworks, and social imaginations, as well as the possibility of designing and developing alternative socio-economic sustainability models.

 

Civic, Activist, and Artistic Practices

This problem area encompasses research on environmental movements, local initiatives, collective action, and artistic practices addressing environmental themes. We study the mechanisms of citizen mobilisation, the effectiveness of activist movements and global solidarity networks, and the role of art in inspiring and creating socio-ecological narratives.

 

Ecology of Space, Infrastructure, and Heritage

This problem area focuses on spatial planning, infrastructure systems, natural and cultural heritage, as well as the impact of urban development and spatial regulation on the environment. A key issue is how spatial planning and infrastructure shape relationships between society and the natural environment, forming long-term patterns of space use and transformation.

 

Energy Transitions and Local Reconfigurations

We examine the specific social, economic, and cultural consequences of transformations in energy systems and how such changes affect the daily lives of local communities. The focus is on how energy transitions affect and change local power relations and access to resources, as well as how it can create opportunities for common goods, solidarity, self-organisation, and community regeneration.

The Environmental Studies Research Group aims to bring together experts from the social sciences and humanities, natural and technical sciences, on both local and global levels, to build a platform for a multidisciplinary approach to the socio-ecological crisis and promote public discussions on environmental issues. The group’s activities are realised through scientific research, publishing papers and monographs, organising lectures, workshops, book discussions, panels, research seminars and conferences, developing public policy documents, educational and artistic programs, and carrying out national and international scientific projects.

Coordinators:

Members:

  • Nikolić Olga, Erić, Zoran (Eds) (2025). Lithium Mining and Environmental (In)justice
  • Erić, Zoran (2025). “Eco-social Crisis and Arts”, In: Culture Innovation and the Green Economy: Towards A Sustainable Future in Europe, Biljana Mickov (ed.). London: Routledge Publishing, pp. 95-114.
  • Novakovic, Jelena (2025), “Growing Through Algorithms”, AM Journal 36, pp. 53−67.
  • Popović, Mirko, Vojvodić, Hristina, Milićević, Ivana (2025). “There and Back Again: Extractive Diplomacy, Rule of Law Deterioration and Lithium Rush in Serbia”, Belgrade: Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung.
  • Rajković, I., & Vasiljević, J. (2025). Ghosts, Rewilded: Environmental Reverberations in the Balkans. East European Politics and Societies 39(4), 921-938.
  • Tomka, Goran, Višnja Kisić i Sanja Iguman Glušac (2025). „Od hlada do borbi: šta su ljudima više-nego-ljudi?”, U: Nina Mihaljinac i Sonja Jankov (ur.), Osnaživanje participacije u kulturi i arhitekturi: aktiviranje javnih resursa za i sa zajednicom. Beograd: Institut za pozorište, film, radio i televiziju – Fakultet dramskih umetnosti, str. 293–304.
  • Bougleux, Elena, Stéphanie Crabeck, Sanja Iguman & Albina Pashkevich. (2024). “Anthropogenic Landscapes, Industrial Heritage and Community Making: An Introduction”, In:  Stéphanie Crabeck, Elena Bougleux, Albina Pashkevich & Sanja Iguman (eds.), Mines and Water: Interpreting European Industrial Heritage in the Anthropocene. Lausanne: Peter Lang, pp. 9-28
  • Bougleux, Elena & Sanja Iguman (2024). “Aquatic Teaching Frameworks in the Anthropocene: Navigating for Natural and Cultural Heritage”, World Futures 80(8): 669–683.
  • Erić, Zoran (2024). „Globalni modeli ekstraktivizma: primeri kritičkih refleksija umetnika”, Život umjetnosti br. 115, str. 126-145.
  • Losoncz, Mark (2024). “Architecture in the Shadow of Catastrophe and Collapse”, Khōrein: Journal for Architecture and Philosophy 2, 2, pp. 99-121.
  • Bulatović, Aleksandra (2023). “Noise and well-being”. 14th ICBEN Congress on Noise as a Public Health Problem. International Commission on Biological Effects of Noise.
  • Erić, Zoran (2023). “The Role of Art and Cultural Institutions in the Global Eco-social Crises”, In: At the Edge of Climate Catastrophe: Art, Culture, Ecology and Policy Making in the 21st Century, Skopje: Lokomotiva – Centre for New Initiatives in Arts and Culture & Freedom Square, pp. 31-42.
  • Erić, Zoran (2023). „Kustoske strategije i institucionalne politike u vreme klimatskih promena”, U: Zeleni preokret: cirkularna ekonomija umetnosti i kulture, Čačak: Gradska biblioteka „Vladislav Petković Dis”, str. 73-88.
  • Bulatović, Aleksandra (2022). „Socijalno-ekološki pristup saradnji Srbije i Kosova” (Social Ecological Approach to Cooperation between Serbia and Kosovo), U: Filip Balunović, Belgzim Kamberi, Aleksandar Pavlović, Visar Ymeri (ur.), Kosovo – Srbija: drugačiji pristup (Kosovo – Serbia: The Other Approach). Priština: Institut za socijalne politike Musine Kokalari; Beograd: Institut za filozofiju i društvenu teoriju, Beograd, str. 97–108.
  • Erić, Zoran (2022). „Ekološka pravda i umetnost”, U: Hristina Mikić & Biljana Mickov (ur.) Nova paradigma kreativne ekonomije, Novi Sad: Kulturni centar Miloš Crnjanski & Institut za kreativno preduzetništvo i inovacije, str. 78-95.
  • Iguman, Sanja (2021). “Urban rivers in Belgrade, Serbia. Radical transformations and illegal urban practices in a post-socialist capital”, Archivio antropologico mediterraneo 24(2): 1-18.
  • Nikolić, Olga, Petrović, Luka i Prodanović, Srđan (prir.) (2021). Otvoreni razgovori: kakvu životnu sredinu želimo? Beogad: Institut za filozofiju i društvenu teoriju.
  • Pupovac, Maja (2021). “First we need trust for justice to be ‘just’: A view on energy transition from the coal-impacted community of Lazarevac, Serbia”, Perspectives Southeastern Europe 9, pp. 27-31
  • Pupovac, Maja (2021). “A wake-up call for us all: Just transition attitudes and perceptions in the coal-affected community of Lazarevac, Serbia”, Climate Action Network (CAN) Europe, Brussels, Belgium

Environmental (In)justice: Project Jadar and Lithium Frenzy

The project “Environmental (In)justice: Project Jadar and Lithium Frenzy” examined Serbia’s controversial Jadar Project as a case study, exemplifying the intersection of lithium extraction with issues such as ecological degradation, community displacement, and undemocratic governance.

Friday, 23. January 2026.
EVENTS

EVENTS

No event found!

All events

NEWS

PUBLICATIONS

Lithium Mining and Environmental (In)justice (2025)

ABOUT

The Environmental Studies Research Group focuses on the socio-ecological crisis and its consequences for humans, other species, and the environment. It develops a wide range of theoretical and empirical research to critically examine existing social frameworks and present alternatives as a response to environmental disasters. The group’s approach is characterised by transversal linking of different disciplines dealing with ecological-social discourses grouped into five problem areas:

 

Critical-Theoretical Frameworks

Through the lens of political ecology, studies of extractivism, environmental and climate justice, environmental criminology, critical social theory, and posthuman theory, this problem area addresses power relations, ways of managing and exploiting natural resources, the post-anthropocentric world, as well as historical processes shaping contemporary environmental transformations and the resulting social inequalities.

 

Socio-Cultural Dimensions of Ecology

Drawing on ecological anthropology, sociology,  ecophilosophy, degrowth/post-growth theories, ecofeminism, ecolinguistics, and sociolinguistics together with critical discourse studies, we explore how environmental changes are embedded in ideologies, cultural patterns, lifestyles, gender relations, language practices, ethical frameworks, and social imaginations, as well as the possibility of designing and developing alternative socio-economic sustainability models.

 

Civic, Activist, and Artistic Practices

This problem area encompasses research on environmental movements, local initiatives, collective action, and artistic practices addressing environmental themes. We study the mechanisms of citizen mobilisation, the effectiveness of activist movements and global solidarity networks, and the role of art in inspiring and creating socio-ecological narratives.

 

Ecology of Space, Infrastructure, and Heritage

This problem area focuses on spatial planning, infrastructure systems, natural and cultural heritage, as well as the impact of urban development and spatial regulation on the environment. A key issue is how spatial planning and infrastructure shape relationships between society and the natural environment, forming long-term patterns of space use and transformation.

 

Energy Transitions and Local Reconfigurations

We examine the specific social, economic, and cultural consequences of transformations in energy systems and how such changes affect the daily lives of local communities. The focus is on how energy transitions affect and change local power relations and access to resources, as well as how it can create opportunities for common goods, solidarity, self-organisation, and community regeneration.

The Environmental Studies Research Group aims to bring together experts from the social sciences and humanities, natural and technical sciences, on both local and global levels, to build a platform for a multidisciplinary approach to the socio-ecological crisis and promote public discussions on environmental issues. The group’s activities are realised through scientific research, publishing papers and monographs, organising lectures, workshops, book discussions, panels, research seminars and conferences, developing public policy documents, educational and artistic programs, and carrying out national and international scientific projects.

MEMBERS

Coordinators:

Members:

PUBLICATIONS
  • Nikolić Olga, Erić, Zoran (Eds) (2025). Lithium Mining and Environmental (In)justice
  • Erić, Zoran (2025). “Eco-social Crisis and Arts”, In: Culture Innovation and the Green Economy: Towards A Sustainable Future in Europe, Biljana Mickov (ed.). London: Routledge Publishing, pp. 95-114.
  • Novakovic, Jelena (2025), “Growing Through Algorithms”, AM Journal 36, pp. 53−67.
  • Popović, Mirko, Vojvodić, Hristina, Milićević, Ivana (2025). “There and Back Again: Extractive Diplomacy, Rule of Law Deterioration and Lithium Rush in Serbia”, Belgrade: Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung.
  • Rajković, I., & Vasiljević, J. (2025). Ghosts, Rewilded: Environmental Reverberations in the Balkans. East European Politics and Societies 39(4), 921-938.
  • Tomka, Goran, Višnja Kisić i Sanja Iguman Glušac (2025). „Od hlada do borbi: šta su ljudima više-nego-ljudi?”, U: Nina Mihaljinac i Sonja Jankov (ur.), Osnaživanje participacije u kulturi i arhitekturi: aktiviranje javnih resursa za i sa zajednicom. Beograd: Institut za pozorište, film, radio i televiziju – Fakultet dramskih umetnosti, str. 293–304.
  • Bougleux, Elena, Stéphanie Crabeck, Sanja Iguman & Albina Pashkevich. (2024). “Anthropogenic Landscapes, Industrial Heritage and Community Making: An Introduction”, In:  Stéphanie Crabeck, Elena Bougleux, Albina Pashkevich & Sanja Iguman (eds.), Mines and Water: Interpreting European Industrial Heritage in the Anthropocene. Lausanne: Peter Lang, pp. 9-28
  • Bougleux, Elena & Sanja Iguman (2024). “Aquatic Teaching Frameworks in the Anthropocene: Navigating for Natural and Cultural Heritage”, World Futures 80(8): 669–683.
  • Erić, Zoran (2024). „Globalni modeli ekstraktivizma: primeri kritičkih refleksija umetnika”, Život umjetnosti br. 115, str. 126-145.
  • Losoncz, Mark (2024). “Architecture in the Shadow of Catastrophe and Collapse”, Khōrein: Journal for Architecture and Philosophy 2, 2, pp. 99-121.
  • Bulatović, Aleksandra (2023). “Noise and well-being”. 14th ICBEN Congress on Noise as a Public Health Problem. International Commission on Biological Effects of Noise.
  • Erić, Zoran (2023). “The Role of Art and Cultural Institutions in the Global Eco-social Crises”, In: At the Edge of Climate Catastrophe: Art, Culture, Ecology and Policy Making in the 21st Century, Skopje: Lokomotiva – Centre for New Initiatives in Arts and Culture & Freedom Square, pp. 31-42.
  • Erić, Zoran (2023). „Kustoske strategije i institucionalne politike u vreme klimatskih promena”, U: Zeleni preokret: cirkularna ekonomija umetnosti i kulture, Čačak: Gradska biblioteka „Vladislav Petković Dis”, str. 73-88.
  • Bulatović, Aleksandra (2022). „Socijalno-ekološki pristup saradnji Srbije i Kosova” (Social Ecological Approach to Cooperation between Serbia and Kosovo), U: Filip Balunović, Belgzim Kamberi, Aleksandar Pavlović, Visar Ymeri (ur.), Kosovo – Srbija: drugačiji pristup (Kosovo – Serbia: The Other Approach). Priština: Institut za socijalne politike Musine Kokalari; Beograd: Institut za filozofiju i društvenu teoriju, Beograd, str. 97–108.
  • Erić, Zoran (2022). „Ekološka pravda i umetnost”, U: Hristina Mikić & Biljana Mickov (ur.) Nova paradigma kreativne ekonomije, Novi Sad: Kulturni centar Miloš Crnjanski & Institut za kreativno preduzetništvo i inovacije, str. 78-95.
  • Iguman, Sanja (2021). “Urban rivers in Belgrade, Serbia. Radical transformations and illegal urban practices in a post-socialist capital”, Archivio antropologico mediterraneo 24(2): 1-18.
  • Nikolić, Olga, Petrović, Luka i Prodanović, Srđan (prir.) (2021). Otvoreni razgovori: kakvu životnu sredinu želimo? Beogad: Institut za filozofiju i društvenu teoriju.
  • Pupovac, Maja (2021). “First we need trust for justice to be ‘just’: A view on energy transition from the coal-impacted community of Lazarevac, Serbia”, Perspectives Southeastern Europe 9, pp. 27-31
  • Pupovac, Maja (2021). “A wake-up call for us all: Just transition attitudes and perceptions in the coal-affected community of Lazarevac, Serbia”, Climate Action Network (CAN) Europe, Brussels, Belgium
PUBLIC ENGAGEMENT
PROJECTS

Environmental (In)justice: Project Jadar and Lithium Frenzy

The project “Environmental (In)justice: Project Jadar and Lithium Frenzy” examined Serbia’s controversial Jadar Project as a case study, exemplifying the intersection of lithium extraction with issues such as ecological degradation, community displacement, and undemocratic governance.

Friday, 23. January 2026.