Wendy Godek

Wendy Godek, Assistant Professor of Politics and International Relations
Wendy GodekAssistant Professor of Politics and International Relations

Contact Information

wgodek@rwu.eduCAS 112

Areas of Expertise

Latin American Politics, Food and Agriculture Politics, Sustainable Development, Gender Politics

Education

B.S. University of Oregon
M.S., PhD Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey

Wendy Godek is an Assistant Professor of Politics and International Relations. She is also a faculty member of the Latin American and Latino Studies Program and affiliated with the Department of Public Health. She received her Ph.D. in Global Affairs from Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey.

Dr. Godek’s research examines social and political change in agrarian and food systems, focusing largely on efforts to deepen social and environmental justice. She has conducted and/or collaborated on research in Latin America concerning food sovereignty movements and policy, agroecological transitions, gender and inclusive rural development, and local multi-stakeholder innovation and learning platforms. She is currently working on a co-authored book project on environmental justice and the self-determination of local communities.

Selected Publications

Godek, W. 2020. “Food sovereignty policies and the quest to democratize food system governance in Nicaragua.” Agriculture and Human Values (edition details forthcoming). DOI: 0.1007/s10460-020-10136-3.

Schiller, K., W. Godek, L. Klerkx, and M. Poorliet. 2020. “Nicaragua’s agroecological transition: Transformation or reconfiguration of the agri-food regime?” Agroecology and Sustainable Food Systems (Special Issue: Agroecology Now – Connecting the Dots to Enable Agroecological Transitions”) 40(5): 611-28. DOI: 10.1080/21683565.2019.1667939.

Godek, W. 2018. “The Global Politics of Food System Sustainability.” In Global Environmental Politics: Concepts, Theories and Case Studies (2nd edn.), Eds. Gabriela Kuetting and Kyle Herman, Routledge. 

Godek, W. 2015. “Challenges for food sovereignty policy making: the case of Nicaragua’s Law 693.” Third World Quarterly (Special Issue: “Food Sovereignty: Framework & campaign, social movements & alternatives”) 36(3): 526–43.   

Putnam, H., W. Godek, S. Kissmann, J. Luckson Pierre, S.H. Alvarado Dzul, H. Calix de Dios, and S. R. Gliessman. 2013. “Coupling Agroecology and PAR to Identify Appropriate Food Security and Sovereignty Strategies in Indigenous Communities.” Agroecology and Sustainable Food Systems, Vol. 38(2): 165–98.

Courses Taught

  • POLSC 120 Comparative Politics
  • POLSC 328 Latin American Politics
  • POLSC 330 Revolution & Social Change
  • POLSC 442 Senior Research Seminar
  • POLSC 430 Special Topics: Global Food Crisis
  • LALS 100 Introduction to Latin American & Latino Studies
  • HONR 300 Community Engagement Seminar