Aging Earth: Senescent Environmentalism for Dystopian Futures

Alarmist demography views older people as natural disasters, but Aging Earth challenges this by focusing on the demographic dread arising from the shift in younger and older populations. It suggests that senescent environmentalism should focus on the contingency of non-linear and non-teleological futures, combining the delicacy of ecosystems on the brink with the structural precarity of older people, queers, and people of color.

Format: Paperback / softback
Length: 75 pages
Publication date: 03 August 2023
Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Alarmist demography frequently portrays older individuals as inevitable natural disasters, imbuing senescence with the destructive power akin to climatic cataclysms. This Element delves into the demographic unease stemming from the relative shift in younger and older populations: rather than a world devoid of children, it envisions a catastrophized realm overwhelmed by the abundance of the old and aging. By drawing upon examples of science fictional sterility dystopias, Aging Earth challenges the privileging of youth in ecocritical thought and practice, particularly the heteronormative urgency to address climate change for the sake of children and future generations. By decoupling the figurative association between futurity and children, senescent environmentalism attunes itself to the contingency of non-linear and non-teleological futures: harmonizing the fragility of ecosystems on the brink with the structural precarity of older people, queers, and people of color.

Alarmist demography often situates older people as natural disasters: images of the gray flood and silver tsunami imbue senescence with the destructive force of climatic proportions. This Element focuses on the demographic dread arising from the relative shift in younger and older populations: not of a world lacking children, but of one catastrophized by the overabundance of the old and aging. Drawing on examples of science fictional sterility dystopias, Aging Earth challenges the privilege of youth in ecocritical thought and practice, especially the heteronormative urgency to address climate change for the sake of children and future generations. By decoupling the figurative connection between futurity and children, senescent environmentalism attunes itself to the contingency of non-linear and non-teleological futures: drawing together the delicacy of ecosystems on the brink with the structural precarity of older people, queers, and people of color.

ISBN-13: 9781009318365