This article aims to discuss the use of Social Reproduction, proposed by Juan Samaja, in the anal... more This article aims to discuss the use of Social Reproduction, proposed by Juan Samaja, in the analysis of living and health conditions in a context of an sustanaible development reserve in the Brazilian Amazon. This study uses a comprehensive approach to Social Reproduction processes that comprise the network of hierarchically organized structures using the analysis of social interactions of narrated and observable events, applied to the data matrix. The Ecological Reproduction of life in the riverside forest is negatively expressed in bio-communal life, as the strategic actions provided by the Political, Economic and Cultural Reproductions, that is, the environmental policy actions, do not value the local way of life. The deficient access to social goods and services, including health care, from the Political and Techno-Economic Reproductions, has an impact on the material basis of the Bio-Communal Reproduction, whose outcome is high frequency of disease complaints and workplace acc...
Condições de vida e de saúde no contexto de uma unidade de conservação ambiental de uso sustentável: estudo de caso em comunidades ribeirinhas na Amazônia Ocidental
ABRASCO, 2018
Jin-jiyan-azadi. Matristic culture and Democratic Confederalism in Rojava
Sustainability Science, 2022
This article explores the significance of Jineolojî, an emancipatory praxis elaborated by the Kur... more This article explores the significance of Jineolojî, an emancipatory praxis elaborated by the Kurdish Women’s Movement, for contemporary degrowth and pluriverse politics. Considering Jineolojî as the most original dimension of the Democratic Confederalist model of government in Northern and Eastern Syria (compared to other revolutionary projects), the article contributes to recent debates around the central place of “depatriarchization” in pluriverse debates. In the first part, we highlight a renewed interest in matriarchy, which has emerged at the intersection of ecofeminist with post-development and degrowth thought, noting how this resonates with the rediscovery of Mesopotamia’s matristic culture, which has been key to Democratic Confederalism and its radical critique of capitalist modernity and the nation State. We also highlight the inherent contradictions of the matristic model and formulate the question whether, and under what conditions, it bears potential for emancipatory political ecologies. The second part briefly describes the article’s sources and method, namely militant ethnography carried out with the Kurdish Women’s Movement, both in Rojava and in the European diaspora, cross-referenced with an analysis of some key texts of Jineolojî. The third part investigates the process by which the matristic perspective is being currently performed in Rojava through Jineolojî: a pedagogy for women’s self-defense, the autonomous re-appropriation of communalist and ecological praxis, and men’s liberation from hegemonic masculinity. We conclude that Jineolojî does not configure as a model of society to be recovered from a pre-patriarchal age, but as an original tool for liberating social potential towards gender, decolonial and ecological revolutions.
Resumo O objetivo deste artigo é analisar as condições de vida e saúde de ribeirinhos de oito com... more Resumo O objetivo deste artigo é analisar as condições de vida e saúde de ribeirinhos de oito comunidades da Reserva Mamirauá, a partir da categoria de análise da Reprodução Social de Juan Samaja. Seu método é descritivo, e foram utilizados questionário estruturado, observação direta e análise documental. A pesquisa identificou baixo envolvimento dos ribeirinhos em relação ao controle social e ao apoio comunitário, o que indica problemas na interação biocomunal e política. O atendimento às demandas sociais está organizado de forma conflituosa, uma vez que várias instituições que atuam nesse território não se articulam. A interação da dimensão política com a tecnoeconômica apresentou Razão de Prevalência <1,0 nas comunidades em que o Instituto Mamirauá promoveu maior diversificação das atividades. Contudo, os rendimentos para subsistência sofrem forte variação e não alcançam a soma de 1 salário mínimo em 60,6% das famílias. Foram observadas elevadas frequências em queixas de saúde...
This article analyzes the discursive representations in the collective thinking of socio-environm... more This article analyzes the discursive representations in the collective thinking of socio-environmentalists about the competencies and responsibilities of the policy of protected areas with the attention to the health of the riverside populations.The method is an exploratory descriptive of qualitative approach based on the collective thinking of socioenvironmentalists working in the protected areas policy of Mamirauá Sustainable Development Reserve from seven interviews collected through a semi-structured script which were analyzed by the Collective Subject Discourse technique.Respondents express knowledge about the constitutional competences of the municipality with health, but they have difficulty in dialogue with the city halls on the subject; the responsibilities of the management of conservation units (UC) and public non-state organizations that work in support of co-management are attributed the responsibility as to captain the public policies and the formulator of scientific i...
Re-semantizing sustainability through creative agricultural practices in the urban Milieu
In the course of the last half century, the most vital of all human activities, food production, ... more In the course of the last half century, the most vital of all human activities, food production, has become a highly de-humanized and mechanized process, carried on away from the everyday experience of most people, in degraded natural environments and often-unhealthy work conditions. This major transformation, which has been termed ‘the modern agricultural dilemma’ (Wright, 2005), has produced a profound alienation of the majority of the world’s population, especially in urban areas, from the natural world as a place where to search for both material and spiritual nourishment. At the same time, however, many people around the world, in the most diverse contexts, have started to challenge this alienation by engaging in the highly creative and socially innovative activity of urban (and periurban) farming. After briefly delineating key aspects of the current agricultural crisis, the article offers an overview of contemporary experiences in small-scale sustainable agriculture and a tentative picture of the variety of forms, spaces, and social actors involved. Viewing urban farming as a form of ‘popular art/craft’, two main avenues are explored – the rise of agricultural gardens in urban areas and the neo-rural transition movement – with some reflections on the rise of urban farming in the urban imaginary and the frequent involvement of artists and designers in urban gardening initiatives. The article closes with critical observations on the state of research on urban agricultural practices.Durante o último meio século, a mais vital de todas as atividades humanas, a produção alimentar, tornou-se um processo altamente desumanizado e mecanizado, afastado da experiência quotidiana da maioria das pessoas, em ambientes naturais degradados e, em muitos casos, em condições de trabalho pouco saudáveis. Esta grande transformação, que foi chamada “o moderno dilema agrícola” (Wright, 2005), produziu uma alienação profunda da maioria da população mundial, especialmente nas zonas urbanas, em relação ao mundo natural como lugar onde se procura alimento material e espiritual. Ao mesmo tempo, porém, muitas pessoas de vários países do mundo, nos contextos mais diversos, começaram a desafar esta alienação ao envolver-se na atividade fortemente criativa e socialmente inovadora da agricultura urbana (e periurbana). Depois de delinear brevemente alguns aspetos essenciais da atual crise agrícola, o artigo oferece uma visão geral sobre as experiências contemporâneas de agricultura sustentável em pequena escala e um quadro aproximado da variedade de formas, espaços e agentes sociais envolvidos. Vendo a agricultura urbana como uma forma de “arte popular/artesanato”, duas grandes vias são exploradas – a ascensão das hortas em zonas urbanas e o movimento de transição neo-rural –, juntamente com algumas reflexões sobre o desenvolvimento da agricultura urbana no imaginário urbano e o envolvimento frequente de artistas e designers em iniciativas de agricultura urbana. O artigo encerra com algumas observações críticas acerca da situação da investigação sobre as práticas agrícolas urbanas
Nature, politics and the 'disorder of water'. Theories of environmental vulnerability in the Mediterranean (1750-1865)
This paper explores the perception of environmental vulnerability in the Mediterranean between th... more This paper explores the perception of environmental vulnerability in the Mediterranean between the end of the so called Little Ice Age and the publication of a seminal study in conservation: G.P. Marsh’s Man and Nature (1864). This period is of particular interest to the environmental historian of Europe for two reasons: first, because it was marked by a sensible climatic shift from colder to warmer temperatures. Second, because it also witnessed major political and economic changes with a significant impact on the management of natural resources. Characterized by a general demographic growth, the 18th century brought about widespread privatizations of land and water, and new politics aimed at extending State control over natural resources. Unlike most areas in North Europe, however, Mediterranean regions were characterized by a geography of mountains and hills with a still high population density. The combined effects of climate change and political economy had thus a significant impact on upland populations, and resulted in unequal patterns of social and environmental vulnerability. The paper will first consider some of the available literature on environmental change in the Mediterranean between 1750 and 1865. It will then offer a critical examination of environmental discourse in one particular Mediterranean region, the Apennines of southern Italy. In particular, it will analyse the ‘disorder of water’ theory elaborated by the Neapolitan Enlightenment School as a political-economy explanation of floods and malaria. The paper will finally examine the role that contemporary environmental change in the Mediterranean Apennines played in G.P. Marsh’s Man and Nature (1865), a founding text of early conservationism in the Euro-Atlantic world. This paper is currently submitted for publication with the proceedings of the First International Workshop on the History of Environment and Global Climate Change (Braga, Portugal, 7-8 May 2009)
The concept of Anthropocene has been incorporated within a hegemonic narrative that represents &#... more The concept of Anthropocene has been incorporated within a hegemonic narrative that represents 'Man' as the dominant geological force of our epoch, emphasizing the destruction and salvation power of industrial technologies. This Element will develop a counter-hegemonic narrative based on the perspective of earthcare labour – or the 'forces of reproduction'. It brings to the fore the historical agency of reproductive and subsistence workers as those subjects that, through both daily practices and organized political action, take care of the biophysical conditions for human reproduction, thus keeping the world alive. Adopting a narrative justice approach, and placing feminist political ecology right at the core of its critique of the Anthropocene storyline, this Element offers a novel and timely contribution to the environmental humanities.
Toxic Bios: Toxic Autobiographies—A Public Environmental Humanities Project
Environmental Justice, 2019
Abstract In this article, we present Toxic Bios, a public environmental humanities (EH) project t... more Abstract In this article, we present Toxic Bios, a public environmental humanities (EH) project that aims to coproduce, gather, and make visible stories of contamination and resistance. To explain ...
The article offers an intellectual critique of Marxist political ecology as developed in western ... more The article offers an intellectual critique of Marxist political ecology as developed in western Europe between the 1970s and 2000s, focusing on the labour/ecology nexus. My critique is based on the intersection of two levels of analysis: (1) the historical evolution of labour environmentalism, focusing on what I will call the eco-modernist dilemma of labour; (2) the meaning of class politics in relation to the politics of the environment, with a special focus on the production/reproduction dialectic. Focusing on the work of four Marxist intellectuals whose ideas resonated with various social movements across the Left spectrum (labour, environmentalism, feminism and degrowth), the article shows how the current entrenchment of labour within the politics of eco-modernization hides a number of internal fractures and alternative visions of ecology that need to be spelled out in order to open the terrain for a rethinking of ecological politics in class terms today.
The first part of this chapter offers a critical review of environmental sociology and political ... more The first part of this chapter offers a critical review of environmental sociology and political ecology, highlighting the contribution they have made to a redefinition of class, and social inequalities in general. The authors then elaborate on their definition of ‘Working-Class Community Ecology.’ The second part of this chapter applies this concept to the case of a working-class community in the city of Taranto, southern Italy, where the 2012 confiscation of a giant steelmaking complex, the ILVA plant – due to serious violations of environmental regulations – is jeopardizing thousands of jobs, thus forming a threat to the local community’s subsistence and identity. The authors investigate the surreptitious way through which both governmental and business actors have actively prevented the making of a class-based environmental consciousness in Taranto.
The degrowth debate so far has lacked a clear vision of what social subjects, and which processes... more The degrowth debate so far has lacked a clear vision of what social subjects, and which processes of political subjectivation, can turn its vision into a political strategy. In this contribution to the debate on degrowth and eco-socialism, I point to the place of labor in the politics of socio-ecological revolution, arguing that degrowth should aim for a truly democratic, workers' controlled production system, where alienation is actively countered by a collective reappropriation of the products of labor and by a truly democratic decisionmaking process over the use of the surplus. Such strategy must be based on an extended concept of class relations that goes beyond the wage labor relation, and toward a broader conception of work as a (gendered and racialized) mediator of social metabolism. I conclude that ecosocialist degrowth should take the form of a struggle for dealienating both industrial and meta-industrial labor.
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Papers by Stefania Barca