ERG alum Dr. Malini Ranganathan, Associate Professor at American University, recently took time to speak with us about her new award winning book, Corruption Plots: Stories, Ethics and Publics of the Late Capitalist City, and the ways ERG has shaped her work.
Corruption Plots: Stories, Ethics and Publics of the Late Capitalist City is a book that acknowledges how we’re living in a world where inequality is on the rise, as the global elite gain more influence over the political system—particularly through strategic control and manipulation of land and real estate. “What’s really at the heart of our book,” says Dr. Ranganathan, “is how corruption becomes a very powerful narrative to expose land mis-dealings as the major arena for capitalist accumulation.” This book, coauthored with David Pike and Sapana Doshi, received the Anthony Leeds Book Prize for Critical Urban Anthropology in 2024, an award that recognizes innovative methodological and theoretical contributions to the field of urban anthropology.
“ERG attracts and nurtures people with a passion and fire that burns inside of you to really expose, address, and research systemic inequality–whether that is related to land, water, climate, energy, or other resources…that systemic ingrained, historically situated inequality drives us to think about social justice as a means to creating a more ethical, humane, and livable world. That’s the real DNA of ERG: it’s the people who are passionate about that,” Dr. Ranganathan expresses in a recent interview.
To read more about Ranganathan’s book, as well as her experiences at ERG, be sure to check out her Alumni Spotlight!