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Abstract:
Elite (white, upper caste, university educated, wealthy, Global North) men still control the production and application of knowledge about the Anthropocene, in essence constructing a (M)anthropocene. Among the many challenges to this reality is the idea of ‘Ecological Masculinity’, advocating for subjectivities that support an ethic of ecological stewardship and care. My work explores the promises and pitfalls of this proposition in Indian Himalayas. Working through a decade of engagement with rural communities, I ask the following questions: Is Ecological Masculinity a viable response to the (M)Anthropocene? If not, what are its conceptual and material limits and can (should) they be transgressed?
About the Speaker:
Ritodhi Chakraborty is a lecturer in the Department of Environmental Management at Lincoln University in New Zealand. He is a political ecologist and interdisciplinary social scientist, a collaborator with indigenous and agrarian communities to explore pathways to environmental and social justice. For the past decade, Dr. Chakraborty has worked with various universities, think-tanks, public and civil society institutions in United States, India, Bhutan, China, and New Zealand on issues of plural knowledges, environmental and social justice, rural transformation, masculinity, climate change and agriculture. https://researchers.lincoln.ac.nz/ritodhi.chakraborty