The next program scheduled by the Chapter’s Democracy and the Environment Book Club will feature a conference call/discussion with Rob Nixon, author of “Slow Violence and the Environmentalism of the Poor.”
Nixon teaches environmental studies and creative nonfiction at Princeton University. “Slow Violence” received an American Book Award and three other prizes. He is a frequent contributor to the New York Times, and his writing has also appeared in The New Yorker, Atlantic Monthly, The Guardian, The Nation, London Review of Books, The Village Voice, Slate, Truthout, and the Huffington Post.
The program begins at 7:30 pm, Wednesday, August 26. RSVP by clicking here.
The violence wrought by climate change, toxic drift, deforestation, oil spills, and the environmental aftermath of war takes place gradually and often invisibly. Using the innovative concept of “slow violence” to describe these threats, Rob Nixon focuses on the inattention we have paid to the attritional lethality of many environmental crises, in contrast with the sensational, spectacle-driven messaging that impels public activism today.
Slow violence, because it is so readily ignored by a hard-charging capitalism, exacerbates the vulnerability of ecosystems and of people who are poor, disempowered, and often involuntarily displaced, while fueling social conflicts that arise from desperation as life-sustaining conditions erode.
In a book of extraordinary scope, Nixon examines a cluster of writer-activists affiliated with the environmentalism of the poor in the global South. By approaching environmental justice literature from this transnational perspective, he exposes the limitations of the national and local frames that dominate environmental writing. And by skillfully illuminating the strategies these writer-activists deploy to give dramatic visibility to environmental emergencies, Nixon invites his readers to engage with some of the most pressing challenges of our time.
This discussion with the author will take place via conference call. To get the call-in information, RSVP on our website.
Each individual is responsible for getting a copy of the book from a local library, bookstore, or at http://www.hup.harvard.edu/catalog.php?isbn=9780674072343.
“It would be great if groups could hold a local in-person book club discussion before the chapter conference call,” said Erin Riddle, book club organizer. “This is an easy way for groups to have a fun social event and productive discussion about our work, while also reaching out to new people. If your group decides to set up a local discussion, please let me know and we can add it to the list of events.
“Also, if you have any recommendations for future selections, and whether you are willing to get in touch with the author to see if s/he can participate and lead the discussion for that discussion. This is an especially helpful way for conservation leaders to raise awareness around your issue and find people who may be willing to take action and get involved with your efforts.”
In case you missed the book club’s July installment, you can listen to archived audio of the call (and all other calls so far) at /content/democracy-environment-book-club. Thanks to Caitlin Pixley for setting this up!
For more information about the book club or to nominate a book as a future selection, contact Erin Riddle at riddleriddle@gmail.com.