Conferences in Mexico: ISEE and Degrowth (September 2018)
Call for papers for special sessions in two sister conferences in Mexico:
– First North-South Conference on Degrowth (Mexico city, 4-6 September)
– 15th Congress of the International Society for Ecological Economics (Puebla, 10-12 September)
Two different special sessions:
1) Environmental justice and degrowth;
2) Feminisms and degrowth.
Proposal submission deadline: 5th of March 2018
Call for papers: Environmental justice and Degrowth
Organizers: Bengi Akbulut, Federico Demaria, Julien-François Gerber, Joan Martínez-Alier
Environmental destructions, overconsumption and overdevelopment are negatively felt by an increasing number of people. Accordingly, voices for ‘prosperity without growth’ have strengthened and environmental conflicts are worldwide on the rise. This Special Section explores the possibility of an alliance between post-growth and ecological distribution conflicts (EDCs). It argues that among the various branches of post-growth and EDCs, degrowth and environmental justice (EJ) movements have the best potential to interconnect. This claim is discussed in the introduction via five ‘theses’ that summarize the key aspects of the relationship between them. Then the papers explore the theses, both theoretically and empirically. We argue that both the EJ movement and the degrowth critique are materialist but also more than just materialist in scope (thesis I) and that both currents seek a politico-metabolic reconfiguration of our economies (thesis II). We also show that both degrowth and EJ seek consequential as well as deontological justice (thesis III) and that both currents are deeply complementary: while EJ has not developed a unified and broader theoretical roadmap, degrowth has largely failed so far to connect with a wider social movement (thesis IV). Finally, whereas Marxism emphasizes the contradiction between capital and labour, both degrowth and EJ stress the contradiction between capitalist growth vs. living conditions (thesis V).
We start from the observation that both degrowth and the EJ movement share a common quest for profound socio-ecological transformations towards justice and sustainability, and that an alliance among these research and activist communities is essential. We conclude by saying that an alliance between degrowth and EJ is not only possible; it is also necessary. Of course, this relationship is still tenuous and its future consolidation cannot be taken for granted. Yet we still consider it ‘organic’ because degrowth and EJ movements contest in a complementary and synergetic way the same fundamental processes – in short, the nature and impacts of our economies’ expansion. Without a degrowth strategy, EJ movements will never fully succeed and vice versa.
Keywords: post-growth, environmental conflicts, ecological distribution conflict, environmental politics
GUIDELINES: Authors interested to join one or both conferences, are invited to submit via e-mail to bengi.akbulut@gmail.com and federicodemaria@gmail.com, on or before the 5th of March 2018, a proposal in the form of an abstract (maximum 300 words), with title, authors and affiliation. Please, indicate which conference you plan to attend, Degrowth in Mexico City and/or ISEE 2018. If you are working on this issue, send us an abstract even if you are not planning to join any of these conferences. We are working on a Special Issue to be published in Ecological Economics in 2019.
Call for Papers: Special Session on Feminism(s) and Degrowth
Organizers:
Bengi Akbulut, Concordia University
Giacomo D’Alisa, University of Coimbra
For decades, the feminist movement have developed a rich repertoire of criticism against the dominant socio-economic system, articulating the role of social difference in producing devalutions (e.g. social reproduction) central to the functioning of capitalist growth economies. This history makes the feminist tradition well-poised to respond to mounting ecological crises and increasing global inequality we face today— challenges that are also of central concern to the degrowth movement. Indeed, feminism and degrowth share much in terms of concepts, debates, and strategies: both build on a criticism of the divide between the spheres of production/reproduction and shift focus on the conditions of reproduction and regeneration, of both human and non-human worlds. The feminist debates on rendering the unpaid labour/non-market work visible is paralleled by degrowth’s insistence on shedding light on environmental limits inherent to any project of unlimited growth. Both traditions build on a critique of extreme individualism, competition and violence of economic (neo)liberalism, an awareness that social change requires transformation of daily lives, and a vision for reconstituting relations (among humans as well as between humans and non-humans) based on principles of care and cooperation.
Yet, the likely alliance of feminism and degrowth have so far remained limited. This session aims to explore the ways in which an alliance between degrowth and feminism(s) can be fostered, including the differences/tensions between the two movements, and the challenges and potential strategies. It hopes to promote a continuing debate on how the two movements can enrich each other and push for a gender equitable ecologically sustainable futures. We invite presentations that focus on a variety of topics within this context. Abstracts (max 250 words) should be sent to to bengi.akbulut@gmail.com and giacomodalisa@gmail.com byMARCH 5th. Please, indicate which conference you plan to attend, Degrowth in Mexico City and/or ISEE 2018.
Depending on the number and contributions we will receive, we will consider putting together a special issue for a journal like Ecological Economics, Feminist Economics or Environment and Planning E. Paper submission by end of 2018. If you are potentially interested to join it, send us an abstract even if you are not planning to join the conferences where we will held special sessions on this topic: Degrowth conferences in Malmo and Mexico City, and ISEE 2018.
The special session builds on and aims to advance the discussions held at the Degrowth Conference in Budapest 2016 (see the roundtable about feminism(s) and degrowth, and the conference interventions by Bengi Akbulut, Stefania Barca and Marco Deriu on YouTube), after which the Feminisms and Degrowth Alliance* (hereafter, FaDA) was formed. A FaDA meeting will be held at the Malmo conference.
*FaDA is a network to unfold the common potentials of the two movements and to foster their alliance. Its main objectives are to exchange information, keep in touch and push for a FaDA agenda. This initiative aims to encourage the reflection of differences, contradictions and limits and to explore and deepen convergences, potentials and strategies of the alliance between feminisms and degrowth.
To subscribe to the mailing list of FaDA, please send an email to fada-subscribe@lists.riseup.net. (You can unsubscribe at any time by sending an email to fada-unsubscribe@lists.riseup.net). We are organizing the next FaDA meeting at Malmo, more news soon.
More info at: https://www.degrowth.info/en/2017/02/feminisms-and-degrowth-alliance-fada-newly-launched/