Amazonian Planetarities is a WHC working group for the 2023-2024 academic year. As a workshop-style working group, Amazonian Planetarities meets twice a month to read, present, and discuss cutting-edge research concerning the Amazon.
The first meeting of the group will take place on Wednesday, November 29 at 6:00PM in Room 4130 Posvar Hall.
Amazonian Planetarities is an interdisciplinary exploration that aims to bring together scholars at different levels and from various disciplines, such as anthropology, history, environmental humanities, life sciences, and others. By considering the planet as a critical image of our shared globalized world, the workshop seeks to unveil the social-ecological global complex that both originates from and influences Amazonian polities. Examples of this exploration include Chinese hydroelectric development and river geology, Brazilian rubber production and labor politics, multinational oil extraction and its impact on forest sound ecology, global jaguar biodiversity conservation and Amerindian cosmologies, and, of course, Amazon Prime and digital logistics. Similar to Copernicus, who rediscovered the gravitational attraction of the Sun, the Amazonian Planetarities workshop attempts to rediscover the planetary love stories between the Amazon and the world.
The format of the workshop combines pre-circulated article drafts, presentations of current research, and the reading and discussion of cutting-edge research in the area. We will also explore new forms of academic engagement to create a lively community of Amazonian scholars within and outside of the university.
For more information about the working group contact Lennon Zhang (liz176@pitt.edu) and Samuel Ferreira (srf66@pitt.edu).
top image, Coca Codo Sinclair Dam. below image, Jumandy international airport.
