Cristóbal Bonelli is a clinical psychologist and anthropologist whose work spans mental health, energy transitions, political violence, and environmental change. With a unique ability to bridge clinical practice and academic inquiry, Cristóbal explores how singular events and relations illuminate broader socio-material transformations in contested territories.

As Principal Investigator of the ERC-funded Worlds of Lithium project, Cristóbal leads comparative research in Chile, China, and Norway, examining how global decarbonization strategies reshape local ecologies, livelihoods, and geopolitical landscapes. His work brings fresh perspectives on the entanglements of memory, materiality, and relationality, offering innovative ways to understand the socio-environmental impacts of energy transitions.

Cristóbal’s dual background as a systemic psychotherapist and anthropologist shapes his interdisciplinary approach, enabling him to engage deeply with the lived realities of individuals and communities. This unique combination allows him to craft conceptual frameworks that bridge practical and theoretical domains, addressing complex societal and environmental challenges with both rigor and creativity.

His research has been published in leading journals such as the Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute, HAU: Journal of Ethnographic Theory, Mobilities, Sociology, and Anthropological Theory, among many others. Cristóbal has also been invited to present his work at institutions such as the University of Oxford, UCL, UC Davis, and EHESS, where his contributions have sparked interdisciplinary dialogues and fostered new collaborations.

At the core of Cristóbal’s work is a commitment to rethinking how lives and landscapes transform in the Anthropocene. Through mentoring students, engaging in interdisciplinary projects, and teaching psychotherapy internationally, he envisions more just and habitable planetary futures grounded in the particularities of lived experiences and the relational dynamics of diverse worlds.

Currently, Cristobal leads the ERC project titled 'Worlds of Lithium,' investigating the societal impacts of lithium extraction and lithium-ion batteries in global energy transition efforts. Through empirical studies in Chile, China, and Norway, the project sheds light on our  interdependence and co-constitution with these materials and technologies, exploring their transformative implications within the complexities of modern life in times of climate change.

Postgraduate level

• The Politics of Sustainability: Environments, Cultures, Materials /  Multispecies ecologies and Planetary Matter

Undergraduate level

• Environments, Alterities and the Anthropological Imagination / Practicing Etnography / Ethnographies and academic writing

I am also Supervisor at the Master on Cultural and Social Anthropology, at the  Research Master's in Social Sciences, at the  Master in International Development Studies and at the Master in Medical Anthropology and Sociology