Beth Dooley

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College: College of Social Sciences and International Studies
Discipline: Sociology and Philosophy
Department: SPA
Research Centre/Unit: Centre for Rural Policy Research

I am a third-year PhD student with the Centre for Rural Policy Research in the Sociology, Philosophy, and Anthropology Department. I received the Rowan Johnstone PhD Studentship to explore the myriad complexities involved with building resilience in UK agriculture. Given the emphasis on the need for farmers to be innovative and entrepreneurial post-Brexit, I employed an ethnographic methodology to explore the role of social learning in farmer discussion groups and whether / how they promote resilience.

Prior to moving to Exeter, I worked on sustainable agricultural policy issues in the EU with Ecologic Institute, an environmental policy think tank in Berlin, Germany. Additionally, I have worked extensively on issues surrounding farm transition and succession planning with the International Farm Transition Network and the Beginning Farmer Center of Iowa State University Extension, USA.

I am a qualified lawyer in the State of Iowa, admitted to the bar in 2012, and specialised in Food and Agricultural Law during my Juris Doctorate at Drake University Law School, Des Moines, Iowa, USA. I subsequently completed a Master of Laws (LL.M.) at the University of Edinburgh in Global Environment and Climate Change Law. Originally from the Heartland of the US, I am passionate about all things to do with agriculture, the land, those who tend it, and how our use impacts the environment as well as how it (e.g., through climate change) impacts our ability to produce food.