Geographisches Kolloquium im SoSe 2024

Gesamtprogramm im SoSe 2024


(contact fynn.julian.kettner@uni-muenster.de for access link/further info)

 

 

Lecture Series: Interdependencies

Climate change and resulting extreme weather events such as floods and droughts, the ongoing destruction of the human habitat, worsening pollution that penetrates into the most intimate areas of human life (e.g. chemicals), increasing global inequalities, power imbalances, wars, and conflicts – all these events are unsettling for humanity. A common response to such phenomena is the reflex to regain control and restore order, often by applying technological, market based, or authoritarian solutions to intervene in these problems.

However, we see the domination of Western perspectives and their implementation as a main reason for the current state of the world, dating back to the modern era, which presents human beings as exceptional, autonomous, and superior to other non-human entities. It is this selfperception of human, regional, and interpersonal exceptionalism that has led to the assumption that we can not only use and consume but even dominate nature and others.

Instead of continuing to defend human and other forms of exceptionalism, in this lecture series we want to explore both existing interdependencies and how to accentuate them, as well as what a theoretical perspective focused on interdependencies between different power relations and between human and non-human life could look like.

We want to do this in three ways: First, we argue that current events and crises make interdependencies even more visible, and that if we take these interdependencies seriously, they illuminate and allow us to decentre and critique the various human and exceptionalist standpoints. Secondly, as human, regional, and more than human interdependencies are not confined to disciplinary or geographical boundaries, they require inter-/post-disciplinary and global collaboration. And third, we want to propose interdependencies as a conceptualizing tool, or theoretical approach that rejects atomized individualist and consumptivist approaches to both the environment and our interpersonal and community relations and instead is concerned with the lively shaping and theorizing of connections and relationships.

The upcoming Lecture Series on Interdependencies is a forum dedicated to exploring the intricate web of the above mentioned connections that define our world. The Lecture Series will take place at the University of Münster in May and June 2024 and aims to foster a rich dialogue that transcends disciplinary boundaries, embracing an inter and post transdisciplinary approach. The Lecture Series contains perspectives from the social and natural sciences, in addition to more-than-human, Indigenous, and decolonial viewpoints.

In our pursuit of comprehending the complex tapestry of interdependency, we invited contributions that bridge the gap between various academic and intellectual disciplines. We bring together scholars to explore novel insights into actual existing interdependencies and the implications of ignoring or rejecting our interdependencies, and develop a theoretical approach, which accentuates those interdependencies.

Join us in this collective exploration of interdependency, where diverse perspectives from the social and natural sciences, as well as more-than-human, Indigenous, and decolonial viewpoints, converge to shape a more interconnected and sustainable future. Let's engage in meaningful conversations that transcend boundaries and contribute to the rich tapestry of knowledge.