| Asst Prof Md Saidul Islam
Assistant Professor
Division of Sociology
School of Humanities and Social Sciences
College of Humanities, Arts, & Social Sciences
Email: MSAIDUL@ntu.edu.sg
Phone: (+65)65921519
Office: HSS-05-44 |
| Education |
- PhD (Soc) York University 2008
- MA (Soc) York University 2002
- BA (Soc & Anthropology) (Hons) International Islamic U Malaysia 2000
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| Biography |
| Dr. Muhammad Saidul Islam is currently in the School of Humanities and Social Sciences since July 01, 2009. He received his MA and PhD in Sociology from York University (Canada) and Bachelor degree in Sociology and Anthropology from International Islamic University Malaysia. His research interests include environmental sociology and international development with particular emphasis on globalization, global agro-food system, environmental certification and governance, global commodity networks, agrarian change, and gender and labor issues in agro-food industries. He also has supplementary interest in Asian Diaspora, power in social organization, and Islam in modernity. Previously he taught in the College of William and Mary, one of the top six public universities in the United States, as well as York University. Along with his four colleagues, Dr. Saidul is currently working on a global project entitled "Privatizing environmental governance: A global study of the effects and effectiveness of environmental certification for farmed shrimp and salmon", supported by a standard grant from Social Science and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC). He has done significant research work in his research areas and published over a dozen articles in different peer-reviewed journals including Food Policy, Society and Natural Resources, Journal of South Asian Development, and Asian Profile. He is a peer-reviewer and a member of the editorial board for Journal of Sustainable Development published from Canada. He is a member of World Aquaculture Society (WAS). |
| Research Interests |
Dr. Saidul Islam has been trained in international development and environmental sociology with particular emphasis on the global agro-food system, global commodity networks/chains, global environmental governance, agrarian change, and labor and gender dimension in rural development. At the core of his research interests lies the conviction that there is a need to devise development models, consistent with local culture and knowledge, which are socially and technologically sound, environmentally and economically sustainable and friendly, culturally responsible, and have meaningful participation and trust of local communities. All these can broadly be conceived as, and expressed through, "sustainable development" or "global social/environmental justice."
As "social/environmental justice" in sustainable international development is largely an analytical core of his research interests, apart from his PhD research (Environmental governance in the global agro-food system: A study of shrimp aquaculture in Bangladesh), Dr. Saidul Islam also has a complementary interest in issues such as identity politics or discursive construction of identities in development discourse (Islam 2003; 2005), multiculturalism and migration (Islam and Islam 2007; Islam 2002) and the Grameen Bank as a route to pro-poor development (Islam 2006). It's relevant to note here that his article in the Journal of Muslim Minority Affairs is being used as a course reading in different universities all over the world including Harvard University. He is committed to working more on other issues of social/environmental justice related to sustainable development in future.
Currently, as a principal researcher he is working on a global project-"Privatizing environmental governance: A global analysis of the effects and effectiveness of environmental certification for farmed salmon and shrimp"-that was awarded a Standard SSHRC (Social Science and Humanities Research Council of Canada) Grant 2007-2010. This research proposes to assess the effects and effectiveness of environmental certification and related approaches through a detailed multi-site study of how certification is being implemented for farmed salmon and shrimp. The study will cover Bangladesh and Thailand as two significant shrimp production sites; Chile and Canada as two major production sites of farmed salmon; and Japan, Canada, the United States and the European Union as the major sites of consumption.
Reference:
Islam, Md. Saidul (2002). Bangladeshi Immigrants in Toronto: Towards an Alternative Way to Meet Cultural Needs. The Journal of Social Studies, 97(July-September): 56-70.
Islam, Md. Saidul (2003). Labelling Tribals: Forming and Transforming Bureaucratic Identity in Thailand and Indonesia in a Historical Setting," Gateway, 3(9): 1-13.
Islam, Md. Saidul (2005). Muslims in the Capitalist Discourse: September 11 and its Aftermath. The Journal of Muslim Minority Affairs, 25(1): 3-12.
Islam, Md. Saidul (2006). From Orangi to Grameen Bank: Alternative Routes to Pro-poor Development. The Journal of Economic Observer, XV (08-09): 31-35.
Islam, S. Serajul and Md. Saidul Islam (2007). Asian Muslims' Integration in the Multicultural Mosaic of Canada. Asian Profile, 35(3):175-189. |
| Research Grant |
- NTU Internal Funding - Sustainable Earth Office (2012-)
- Start Up Grant (2009-2012)
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| Current Projects |
- Bridging Research and Pedagogy in Sustainability
- Privatizing Environmental Governance and Global Food Security: The Neo-Liberal Restructuring of the Global Agro-Food System
| Selected Publications | - Islam, Md Saidul. (2009). In search of ‘white gold’: Environmental and agrarian changes in rural Bangladesh. Society and Natural Resources , 22(1), 66-78.
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