Unlearning ECM: PhD and Beyond
In this seminar, I will reflect on how analysing the causes and solutions of wildfires during my PhD prompted a critical re-evaluation of what I learned from the ECM course. While ECM and its faculty inspired me to pursue an academic career, my PhD project made me question the absences and silences in the ECM’s content. I began to question how ECM, despite its strengths, facilitated Eurocentric perspectives that underplay the deeper roots of environmental crises, particularly the entanglements of capitalism, colonialism, and racism. Using wildfires as a case in point, I will argue for a more nuanced approach to environmental issues beyond conventional blame targets such as far-right anti-climate politicians, oil and gas companies, or rethinking personal behaviours like air travel and dietary choices. Instead, I argue for engaging with decolonial thought to understand better and address the elements driving environmental destruction.
Date:
19 November 2024, 13:00 (Tuesday, 6th week, Michaelmas 2024)
Venue:
Dyson Perrins Building, off South Parks Road OX1 3QY
Venue Details:
Desert Room, School of Geography and the Environment
Speaker:
Kapil Yadav (King's College London)
Organising department:
Environmental Change Institute
Organiser:
Dr Avidesh Seenath (Environmental Change Institute, University of Oxford)
Organiser contact email address:
avidesh.seenath@eci.ox.ac.uk
Host:
Dr Avidesh Seenath (Environmental Change Institute, University of Oxford)
Part of:
ECM Brown Bag Seminar Series
Booking required?:
Not required
Audience:
Members of the University only
Editor:
Avidesh Seenath
