This week in the Reimagining Waste Landscapes seminar series, author Cal Flyn talked about about the ecology and psychology of abandoned places, and her new book, Islands of Abandonment. Cal gave a really evocative presentation and we had a great session with questions afterwards. Shortly after the session concluded Cal was named Young Writer of the Year 2021 at an award ceremony in London – congratulations!

If you missed the talk on Wednesday, check out the recording here! 

 

The series continues next week online with Ed Hollis (ECA, University of Edinburgh) in a talk entitled ‘Narrating a Wasted Landscape: exploring architectural heritage in an industrial town in Bengal’. Ed will discuss his ongoing research in coal mining landscapes in West Bengal and the potential for different ways of narrating waste.

In subsequent weeks we have John Brown (ECA) and Antonia Thomas (UHI) – excitingly these talks will also take place in person at ECA you can book this option (listed as separate events) via the Eventbrite Collection page. If you have already booked for online you can always cancel that order and book a  new in person order if in Edinburgh.

Feb 25, 2022

Coming up this week, 4pm Wednesday 9 February!

The Reimagining Waste Landscapes seminar series launches with a presentation from Dr Jacob Doherty of the University of Edinburgh. Jacob introduces his new book, Waste Worlds: Inhabiting Kampala’s Infrastructures of Disposability (University of California Press, 2021) and presents an ethnography of the Ugandan capital city’s diverse waste streams and the social worlds that surround them.

Sign up to attend online here: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/249247314427 

Jacob Doherty is Lecturer in Anthropology of Development at the University of Edinburgh’s School of Social and Political Science. He specialises in urban and environmental anthropology. His research grapples with how African cities are responding to the entwined issues of economic inequality and environmental justice. He has conducted ethnographic research in Uganda, the Ivory Coast, and the United States, examining the everyday infrastructures through which urban residents construct and provision their lives, focusing particularly on waste and mobility.

 

Feb 7, 2022