Malini Ranganathan, Associate Professor in the School of International Studies, has been awarded the Harold M. Rose Award for Anti-Racism Research and Practice from the American Association of Geographers (AAG) for her sustained and exceptional contributions to debates in racial geographies, political ecology, and urban geography.

The award honors geographers who have a demonstrated record of the type of research and active contributions to society that marked Harold Rose’s career. Rose, a Distinguished Professor Emeritus of Geography and Urban Studies at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee at the time of his death, was a pioneer in geographical research and practice, focusing especially on the social conditions faced by African Americans, especially racism and its social and spatial production.

Ranganathan’s scholarship articulates how processes of racialization, racial capitalism, and racial liberalism can be understood both within and beyond European and American contexts and engages with projects of coloniality, casteism, ethno-nationalism, and Islamophobia. She studies these macro historical processes primarily in the context of cities and their spatial, housing, and ecological inequities. Her recent work continues her engagement in a deep and ongoing dialogue and study with Dalit-led anti-caste social movements in India that is aimed at supporting their struggles.

“Malini brings an urban geographer’s perspective to some of the biggest problems of our time, including access to potable drinking water, environmental and climate justice, and systems of oppression. She brings a cross-cutting, critically minded approach to international studies, and our scholarship and teaching are the better for it,” said Dr. Shannon Hader, dean of the School of International Service.

In addition to her research, Ranganathan stood out to the selection committee for her antiracist institutional leadership, intellectual mentorship, community engagement, and advancement of geography. In her role as the interim director of the Center for Anti-racism at American University, for example, she cultivated a leadership model to foster a diffuse and inclusive shared governance infrastructure, centering especially on diverse groups of women of color.

According to the AAG’s announcement of her award, Ranganathan’s “prolific combination of research, mentorship, teaching, and community-building carries the torch of Rose’s work and his commitment to geographical anti-racist praxis.”

The AAG presented Ranganathan with the award during their Annual Meeting in Denver, Colorado on March 26.