Political Ecology Explored in New Lecture Series
Humanity all over the world has been exposed to relentless crises caused and triggered by damaging environmental transformations. While many consider this pattern as an entirely natural process, scholars have persistently argued that disastrous events--be it in the past or currently occurring--are tied to power dynamics on a global level, largely driven by the expansion of capitalistic relations and its entailing political contestations. Viewed in this light, the recent fires, landslides, tornadoes, and the ravaging COVID-19 pandemic forces us to rethink the relationship between human and nature in an age of environmental calamity.
For the 2020-21 academic year, EDGS will be hosting a monthly graduate lecture series on the theme of political ecology, the study of the relationship between political, economic, and social factors with environmental issues. The lecture series, organized by Arryman Scholars Sofyan Ansori and Atmaezer Simanjuntak, will offer a wide array of research that seeks to understand processes of environmental change and its entailing consequences to democracy, equality, indigenous rights, and development. Research will be presented by graduate students from diverse academic backgrounds: anthropology, sociology, geography, development studies, and history. The goal is not only to deepen an understanding of political ecology as a field of inquiry, but also to constantly involve a critical dialogue across fields that may contribute to a more complete understanding of human - nature relationships across the globe.