Alero Akporiaye
Alero Akporiaye is an associate professor of Political Economy in RISD’s History, Philosophy and the Social Sciences department. She is also a research affiliate at the Institute of African and Diaspora Studies at the University of Lagos, Nigeria and an editor at the Ground Works journal. Akporiaye is an international political economist who teaches courses broadly in international relations and has published research on political risk, oil politics and corporate social responsibility. She has research interests in the political economy of oil extraction, ethnography of sites of oil extraction, corporate social responsibility and the extractive sector, corporate social responsibility and human rights, political risk and multinational corporations, experimental methods in international political economy, African political economy, African and diasporic African feminist theories in international political economy, and African and diasporic African knowledge production systems.
Akporiaye is currently working on a book project that is an African feminist political economy investigation of oil conflict in the Niger Delta region of Nigeria. The book argues that prevailing neoliberal explanations of oil conflict in international political economy are incomplete because they are ahistorical. These explanations ignore the role of colonialism and imperialism in shaping colonial and post-colonial political and economic constructions of the local polities of oil-producing communities. Ultimately, she argues that colonial histories and imperialism are vital factors to consider in understanding conflict at sites of resource extraction.
She is from Warri in the Niger Delta region of Nigeria and is an avid supporter of Arsenal Football Club and Nigeria’s national female and male football teams.
Academic areas of interest
Political economy of oil extraction, ethnography of sites of oil extraction, corporate social responsibility and the extractive sector, corporate social responsibility and human rights, political risk and multinational corporations, experimental methods in international political economy, African political economy, African and diasporic African feminist theories in international political economy, and African and diasporic African knowledge production systems
Courses
Fall 2024 Courses
HPSS S439-01
POLITICAL ECONOMY OF GLOBAL SUPPLY CHAINS
SECTION DESCRIPTION
How do goods/products get from producers to consumers? Global supply chains are involved in the global system of organizations, people, processes, and resources that transform raw materials into finished products. Additionally, these complex processes and networks are responsible for delivering finished products to consumers. In this course, we will first lay a foundation for understanding global supply chains, drawing from political science, economics, and management. Next, we will engage in critical analysis of the process and network with respect to issues that include human rights, gender, the environment, and labor standards. We will correspondingly examine the roles of actors such as governments, firms, consumers, international organizations, and non-governmental organizations involved in global supply chains.
Elective
HPSS S439-02
POLITICAL ECONOMY OF GLOBAL SUPPLY CHAINS
SECTION DESCRIPTION
How do goods/products get from producers to consumers? Global supply chains are involved in the global system of organizations, people, processes, and resources that transform raw materials into finished products. Additionally, these complex processes and networks are responsible for delivering finished products to consumers. In this course, we will first lay a foundation for understanding global supply chains, drawing from political science, economics, and management. Next, we will engage in critical analysis of the process and network with respect to issues that include human rights, gender, the environment, and labor standards. We will correspondingly examine the roles of actors such as governments, firms, consumers, international organizations, and non-governmental organizations involved in global supply chains.
Elective
Spring 2025 Courses
HPSS S101-07
TOPICS: HISTORY, PHILOSOPHY, & THE SOCIAL SCIENCES
SECTION DESCRIPTION
Topics in History, Philosophy, and the Social Sciences is an introductory course in which students are encouraged to develop the skills in critical thinking, reading, and writing that are common to the disciplines represented in the Department of History, Philosophy, and the Social Sciences (HPSS). Sections focus on the topics typically addressed within the department's disciplines; through discussion about key texts and issues, students are introduced to important disciplinary methodologies and controversies. All sections have frequent writing assignments, which, combined with substantial feedback from HPSS faculty, afford students the opportunity to develop the strategies and techniques of effective writing. There are no waivers for HPSS-S101 except for transfer students who have taken an equivalent college course.
- First-year students are registered by the Division of Liberal Arts.
- Transfer and upper-level students should register for one of the evening sections that are offered in the Fall and Spring semester.
Major Requirement | BFA
HPSS S101-08
TOPICS: HISTORY, PHILOSOPHY, & THE SOCIAL SCIENCES
SECTION DESCRIPTION
Topics in History, Philosophy, and the Social Sciences is an introductory course in which students are encouraged to develop the skills in critical thinking, reading, and writing that are common to the disciplines represented in the Department of History, Philosophy, and the Social Sciences (HPSS). Sections focus on the topics typically addressed within the department's disciplines; through discussion about key texts and issues, students are introduced to important disciplinary methodologies and controversies. All sections have frequent writing assignments, which, combined with substantial feedback from HPSS faculty, afford students the opportunity to develop the strategies and techniques of effective writing. There are no waivers for HPSS-S101 except for transfer students who have taken an equivalent college course.
- First-year students are registered by the Division of Liberal Arts.
- Transfer and upper-level students should register for one of the evening sections that are offered in the Fall and Spring semester.
Major Requirement | BFA