Seth Murray

I have conducted research in various sites of western Europe since 1999. As a member of larger interdisciplinary research team in Burgundy, France, I investigate the intergenerational changes in environmental and agricultural risk-perception and risk-mitigation strategies among Charollais beef cattle farmers, particularly as they relate to historical and contemporary water management practices. I have also examined the relationship between microclimatology and the socio-ecological vulnerability of farmers.

In the Basque region of southwestern France and northern Spain, I have conducted ethnographic, oral history, and extensive archival research examining the management and use of common-pool resources by sheep farmers over the past two centuries, most recently as relates to the expansion of non-agricultural activities into rural mountain areas. I have also investigated the impact of European Union agricultural and environmental policies on the local Basque economy, and the social mobilization prompted by the intervention of these external forces.