On Monday 4 December 2023, I wil be taking part in a roundtable hosted by Isabel Pérez and University of Edinburgh’s Institute for Advanced Study (IASH). I wil introduce my research in a wider discussion of how we narrate waste and wasting practices.

Some tickets for attendees remain – see contact below.

Abstract:

This roundtable sets to discuss current theories linking waste with the present global socio-environmental crisis, namely theories of the Wasteocene, from a narrative perspective. Roundtable speakers will reflect upon their own academic approach to waste (both theoretically and methodologically) while exploring different (counter-)narrative approaches to waste and wasting in a broad sense (e.g.: literary, artistic, audio/visual, historical, or political narratives), and connecting them with related processes/practices such as colonialism and extractivism. See attachment for full description. The roundtable is facilitated and supported by The Institute for Advanced Studies in the Humanities at the University of Edinburgh (IASH) and the Susan Manning Workshop Fund.

Advance registration is required for space is limited. To RSVP, please contact the symposium organiser, Isabel Pérez isabelperez@uniovi.es.

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.

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.