Irma Losada Olmos
Research
I am a political and cultural geographer interested in critical geopolitics, infrastructure, and development.
My dissertation examines the construction and operation of the Maya Train in Mexico’s Yucatán peninsula. It focuses on the (geo)political and economic motivations behind the project, its impacts on local communities, and the relationship between the train and Yucatán’s karst aquifer and subterranean spaces. This research reveals the multi-temporal and multi-dimensional effects of mega-infrastructure projects in an age of increased geopolitical competition over the control of logistics networks and of territories perceived as disconnected from the state.
Another research project examines the territorialization of ocean spaces through the Law of the Sea, with a focus on state territorial claims for maritime boundary delimitation.
My research has been supported by the Fulbright Program, the La Caixa Foundation, and the Mellon/ACLS Dissertation Innovation Fellowship.
Advisors
Adam Moore, Professor of Geography (co-chair)
Shaina Potts, Associate Professor of Geography (co-chair)
John Agnew, Distinguished Professor Emeritus of Geography and Italian
Jason de León, Professor of Anthropology and Archaeology