Mathilde Knöfel is a student of the master’s degree programme in International Cooperation on Human Rights and Intercultural Heritage at the University of Bologna (Italy). Thanks to a scholarship for writing the final dissertation abroad, awarded by her home university, she will carry out her master thesis’ project at the Centre for Environmental Humanities on the topic “Alternative Human Rights Approaches in the Anthropocene Era” from September 1st to November 30th, 2022. Her aim is to critically analyse the anthropocentric perception of human rights in highly industrialized countries and provide alternative and supporting approaches to the human rights discourse, drawing insights from the fields of philosophy/religion (e.g., Buddhism), politics (e.g., alternative state constitutions), and anthropology (e.g., indigenous communities and their approaches to nature and the human being). Her main thesis consists in affirming that it is impossible to talk about human rights without taking into consideration the environment in which humans are embedded.

Mathilde studied International Cultural and Business studies at the University of Passau (Germany) for her bachelor’s degree with a focus on the Southeast Asian region, and has international working and studying experience in Thailand, Paraguay, Mexico, Greece, and Turkey. She will be supporting the CEH with the conference on “Global Environmental Justice and Its Limits: Complexities of Time and Space”. During her time in Aarhus, she hopes to get inspired by the work of the Centre and deepen her knowledge on global environmental justice.