Degrowth Rural Futures
Reclaiming the agrarian in the socio-ecological struggle
By Donatella Gasparro
After “Policies for Degrowth”, the second Deep Dive we are offering is “Degrowth Rural Futures: Reclaiming the agrarian in the socio-ecological struggle”, taught by Donatella Gasparro, with classes of 2.5 hours each Monday starting on November 24th till December 22nd, from 5pm to 7.30pm.
Course format
The Deep Dive at a glance
Rurality and agrariain liveworlds have long been relegated to being a resedue of the past, a stronghold of conservativisim and a symbol of unbearable toiling. Yet in any desirable degrowth future – in which the environment is thriving and work is justly redistributed – rural space and agrarian lifeworlds are an indispensable ingredient of the struggle, and the material substrate for socio-ecologically sound societies in balance with their ecosystems.
This course sketches an ambitious journey across degrowth-aligned disciplines, movements and visions that together rethink, resignify and relaunch the rural as key in shaping desirable futures, with a focus on European countrysides. With the intent of rescuing rurality from its past-offworld relegation, we will draw on critical rural geography, political agroecology, critical agrarian studies, eco-marxism, materialist ecofeminism, and rural social movements to rethink rural space, people and livelihoods as active and indispensable agents in making the degrowth future we wish for.
Requirements
Knowledge of degrowth theoretical foundations; acquaintance with political ecology; an interest in rural areas, agriculture, and land.
For an overall introduction to degrowth, check our course “Introduction to degrowth” on our webpage.
Target
Class format and learning tools
The course is taught with a variety of teaching methods that include frontal lectures and peer-to-peer learning moments such as plenary debates, facilitated discussions, group work in break-out rooms, and multi-media educational material.
There will be the optional opportunity of doing a self-led excursion to a rural area of the students’ choice, with a written output to reflect upon the themes of the course applied to the students’ context.
Participants should be ready to come prepared to class with doing the necessary reading, to foster active and informed participation and ensure a fertile learning environment for everyone.
Timeline
Classes will be 2.5 hours each Monday starting on November 24th till December 22nd, from 5pm to 7.30pm (CET) .
November 24th – Switching our gaze: looking at the countryside form the country’s side
December 1st – Feeding the revolution: degrowth ecosocialist ocuntrysides, beyond localisms
December 8th – Reproduction rewired: rethinking the Northern agrarian questions from the degrowth ecofeminist standpoint
December 15th – Political Agroecology: emancipatory rural politics, commons and convivial tools for degrowth in the rural
December 22nd – Reinventing the wheel? Between recording “tradition” and real-existing degrowth
About the teacher
Donatella Gasparro is a PhD researcher at Scuola Normale Superiore (Florence, Italy), Faculty of Political Science & Sociology, and a collaborator with ICTA-UAB at the Autonomous University of Barcelona, within the project “REAL – A Post Growth Deal” where she focuses on advancing research on Real-Existing Degrowth. Donatella researches, teaches and disseminates at the intersection of critical agrarian studies, degrowth, ecofeminism and political (agro)ecology. Donatella’s research focus are the subsistence-oriented economies that persist in Southern Italian remote rural areas, and their potential for degrowth futures.
Donatella’s passion for, and connection with, rural areas has deep familiar roots, and besides critical social sciences she has a background in agroecology and agronomy, and has been active in a peasant agroecology association in Southern Italy for more than a decade. Donatella has gained experience in international higher education by teaching political ecology and rural geography at the University of Muenster (Germany), environmental sciences at the University of Leiden (The Netherlands) and Agroecology at Wageningen University (The Netherlands), and by leading several workshops and lectures for the broader public.
She is active in spreading degrowth in Italy, and is part of the editorial collective of the Italian degrowth quarterly “Quaderni della Decrescita” (Degrowth notebooks), for which she’s curating a special issue on degrowth and rurality. Here an overview of her recent work and events.
Applications and pricing
Applications to the “Deep Dive” Online Course are open from October 13th to November 2nd, 2025. Registrations will be reviewed on a first-come, first-served basis. We encourage you to apply early to secure your spot. After registration closes, all applicants will be notified. Once notified, accepted participants will have one week to confirm their spot by paying the course fee.
Price
250 Euros
The basic fee of 250 Euros covers all costs for the course. This consist in five classes of 2.5 hours with a maximum capacity of 25 people. Classes allow interaction and exercise between lecturer and peers.
Two scholarships
The scholarships are intended for individuals who face significant financial barriers and would otherwise be unable to attend the course. To apply for a scholarship please explain your situation to us (see application form).
Amb el suport de l’Ajuntament de Barcelona
