Cosmopolitical Ecologies Across Asia: Places and Practices of Power in Changing Environments

Cosmopolitical Ecologies Across Asia explores the non-human and spiritual dimensions of environmental management in a changing world, presenting a comparative, place-based exploration of landscapes and the entities, practices, and knowledges that inhabit them. It considers sacred mountains, terrains, and water sources as part of critical cosmopolitical ecologies, where non-human entities engage as actors in the socio-political arena. Contributors explore how humans engage with non-human entities to navigate environmental change and address ecological threats, including the repurposing of ritual to address challenges such as the COVID-19 epidemic.

Format: Paperback / softback
Length: 276 pages
Publication date: 25 September 2023
Publisher: Taylor & Francis Ltd

Cosmopolitical Ecologies Across Asia provides a distinctive perspective on the non-human and spiritual aspects of environmental management in a rapidly evolving world. This comprehensive volume conducts a comparative, place-based exploration of landscapes across Asia, examining the diverse entities, practices, and knowledge systems that inhabit them. Rather than treating sacred mountains, terrains, and water sources as isolated, esoteric religious phenomena, the authors approach them within critical cosmopolitical ecologies frameworks, recognizing the active involvement of non-human entities in the socio-political realm. The chapters encompass case studies of healing springs recognized by governments, sacred mountains addressed by heads of states and Communist Party cadres, or that communicate with the faithful through spirit mediums in a politics of re-enchantment. Contributors delve into the diverse ways in which humans engage with non-human entities such as forest spirits, reindeer, mountains, and Buddhist Masters of the Land to navigate environmental change and address a range of ecological threats, from large-scale mining to climate change. Cosmopolitical ecologies approaches encompass the healing power of topography as well as transformative intimacies with other-than-human beings, such as sparrows within an Islamic eco-theological poetic setting. In this light, the book observes dynamic and creative processes of cosmological innovation, including the repurposing of ritual to address challenges like the COVID-19 epidemic.

This book holds immense appeal to students and scholars engaged in the fields of environment and society from various disciplinary perspectives. It will particularly interest anthropologists, human geographers, political ecologists, indigenous studies, area studies, environmental sciences, and environmental humanities scholars. By exploring the intricate relationships between humans, non-human entities, and the natural world, Cosmopolitical Ecologies Across Asia offers valuable insights into the complex dynamics of environmental management and the potential for innovative cosmological solutions to contemporary challenges.

Weight: 453g
Dimension: 234 x 156 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781032137766