Katharina Hunfeld

Dr Katharina Hunfeld’s research and teaching focus on various aspects of feminist, decolonial and Marxist thought on the climate crisis, commons and community landownership, as well as the politics of time & temporality. She is particularly interested in the relations, practices and imaginaries that enable and empower concrete political action towards a greener future. She is affiliated with the St Andrews Centre for Critical Sustainabilities (StACCS).

Her current research project critically reflects on the impact and political significance of Scottish projects of 'commoning' the land through community ownership models. These self-organised models, she posists, are important alternatives to both state and private property ownership that offer valuable lessons for ecologically troubled societies.

In 2025, her 4th year module Critical Perspectives on the Climate Crisis received the Golden Dandelion award. The module engages with questions around climate science and governance, social reproduction, Indigenous sovereignty and land rights, Green New Deals and ecosocialist transition, radical direct action, rewilding and utopian climate fiction. The module builds on Kat's ongoing research as well as on previous pedagogical work undertaking for a Marxism & Ecology Summer School, which she co-conceptualised and co-delivered in Mureș County, Romania. 

A central goal of her pedagogy, and its key strength, lie in helping students develop excellent critical thinking and writing skills. Kat teaches with a clear sensitivity towards making power dynamics visible and providing students with the necessary critical vocabulary for delivering their analyses concisely and confidently. 

Kat is also a member of the editorial collective of the journal Historical Materialism, and always welcomes inquiries about submissions to the journal and its annual conferences.

Her writing has also appeared in Jacobin and the Scottish Left Review.

Kat currently convenes and teaches:

• IR3079 - Feminist Theories in Global Politics
• IR3060 - Rebellion and Revolution
• IR4590 - Critical Perspectives on the Climate Crisis (new)
• IR5705 - Critical Approaches to Peacebuilding

Past modules:

• IR1005 - Introduction to International Relations
• IR2006 - Studying International Relations
• IR4099 - Honours Dissertation in International Relations
• IR4542 - Gender and Terrorism
• IR5064 - The Military in Politics