Black Ecologies Discussion Series: Extraction, Disposability and Resistance
The Spring 2021 Black Ecologies Discussion Series will bring together environmental justice organizers, Black farmers, performance and visual artists, and intellectuals with the aim of transforming the epistemology of ecological analysis. These discussions will center three key themes: extraction, disposability and resistance. View the series flyer here.
Series sponsors include the Institute for Humanities Research, the School of Social Transformation, the School of Historical, Philosophical and Religious Studies, the IHR Digital Humanities Initiative, The College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, the Environmental Humanities Initiative, and the College of Global Futures.
View past events in this series in the YouTube playlist below.
Extraction, Disposability and Resistance: Black Ecologies Discussion 1
Wednesday, March 31, 2:30 AZ Time
Speakers: Jillean McCommons & Nico Westbrook in conversation, Dr. Justin Hosbey, Dr. Mako Fitts Ward, Marcus Akinlana, Dr. Sakena Scaggs-Young, Temar France
Hosted by: Alexis Young
The Texas Freedom Colonies Project - Womanist Placemaking Ecologies in African American Settlements
Wednesday, April 7, 2:30 AZ Time
Keynote Speaker: Dr. Andrea Roberts
Presented by: Dr. Rashad Shabazz
Extraction, Disposability and Resistance: Black Ecologies Discussion 2
Wednesday, April 14, 2:30 AZ Time
Speakers: Ebony N. Golden, Eva Dickerson & Emerald Rutledge in conversation, Dr. Hilda Lloréns, Johnnie Cruise Mercer, Dr. Randi Gill-Sadler, Teona Williams
Hosted by: Leah Kaplan
Extraction, Disposability and Resistance: Black Ecologies Discussion 3
Wednesday, April 21, 2:30 AZ Time
Speakers: Dr. Danielle Purifoy, Huewayne Watson, Kamal Bell & Ajamu Amiri Dillahunt in conversation, Dr. Jarvis McInnis, Dr. Shamara Wyllie AlHassan, Dr. Wende Marshall & Kali Akuno in conversation
Hosted by: J.T. Roane
What Remains? Reflections on Memory, Nostalgia and the Ephemerality of Black Geographies
Wednesday, April 28, 2:30 AZ Time
Keynote Speaker: Dr. Ashanté Reese
Presented by: Dr. Leslie Alexander
Art
The initiative will partner with one or two Black artists working on these matters.
Film
We hope to partner with a filmmaker whose work centers on Black ecologies topics.
Writing
The initiative will coordinate writing with Black Perspectives' ongoing series by the same title edited by Justin Hosbey, Leah Kaplan and J.T. Roane. We will explore forms of writing germane to Black cultural life that don’t get much spin in the academy but which remain significant.
Discussion
We will bring the community together several times throughout the academic year to discuss Black ecologies and the different projects that the Black Ecologies Initiative will pursue.
- "On Black Ecologies," panel at the Political Ecologies Network, hosted by the STEPS Center, Sept. 23, 2020.
- "Nature is Healing? Our Relationship With The Non-Human Under COVID-19," panel for Unsound Festival, hosted in Krakow, Oct. 5, 2020.