Ecology and nonhuman agency between "A Thousand Plateaus" and Chernobyl
In this thesis, I argue that the notion of “nonhuman agency” requires a further degree of refinement and explanation than it is presently normally given in order for it to be used, as a conceptual too, to its full potential. To this end, I argue that the philosophical system presented by Deleuze and Guattari in A Thousand Plateaus offers us the means to address these issues. I then use Chernobyl as a case study to both further develop this notion of agency, as well as to better understand how people, techno-industrial regimes, forest dynamics, large-mammal movement and political changes interacted with one another to emergently produce the outcomes we see in Chernobyl today, and how these insights may be put to use to tackle questions in ecology, conservation, and the further development of the theory of environmental history.
Date: 2 November 2023, 12:30 (Thursday, 4th week, Michaelmas 2023)
Venue: History Faculty, George Street OX1 2RL
Venue Details: Gerry Martin Room
Speaker: Aryaman Gupta
Part of: Environmental History Working Group
Booking required?: Not required
Audience: Members of the University only
Editor: Belinda Clark