Thomas Ponniah

Dr. Thomas Ponniah is a Lecturer on Social Studies at Harvard University.

"He is the co-editor of Another World is Possible: popular alternatives to globalization at the World Social Forum, one of the co-authors of Unholy Trinity: the IMF, World Bank and WTO, and the co-editor of The Revolution in Venezuela: critical perspectives on the Chavez government (Duke University Press 2009).

"Thomas Ponniah's doctoral dissertation focused on globalization, development, social theory and social movements and was completed in the Graduate School of Geography at Clark University in Massachusetts.

"He has been awarded a Certificate of Distinction in Teaching each year that he has taught at Harvard University. He was awarded the 2006-2007 Barrington Moore Prize for Advising Excellence in Social Studies. In 2007-8 he was nominated for the Joseph R. Levenson Memorial Teaching Award and the John R. Marquand Award for Exceptional Advising and Counseling."

He received a David Rockefeller Center for Latin American Studies, Conference Grant for “Assessing Venezuela: 1998-2006” ($10,000).


 * Member, Board of Advisors of Left Forum. 2005 onwards.
 * Member, Network Institute for Global Democratization (NIGD) . This organization is one of the founding members of the International Council of the World Social Forum.
 * Member, Carold Institute project on Participatory Democracy 2002-2005. This Canadian Institute established a three year research project on participatory democracy in Canada. I was one of 12 Canadians chosen to participate.

Doctoral Thesis
Ph.D., Graduate School of Geography, Clark University, 2006. Dissertation focused on globalization, development, social movements and social theory. Doctoral Committee: Richard Peet, William Fisher, Robert J.S. Ross, Yuko Aoyama and Jody Emel.

Dissertation: “The World Social Forum Theory of Development”: civil society proposals for an alternative globalization”.

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