Creating Worlds Otherwise: Art, Collective Action, and (Post)Extractivism

Extractivism has caused ecological devastation, wealth accumulation, and erosion of rights in Latin America. Sociology, political ecology, anthropology, and geography have ignored the role of art and cultural practices in studies of extractivism and post-extractivism. Creating Worlds Otherwise examines the narratives that subaltern groups generate around extractivism and how they develop, communicate, and mobilize these narratives through art and cultural practices. It is an innovative contribution to Latin American studies, political ecology, cultural studies, and art theory.

Format: Hardback
Length: 254 pages
Publication date: 01 July 2022
Publisher: Vanderbilt University Press

Extractivism has emerged as a central framework for activists and scholars in Latin America to understand the dynamics of ecological devastation, wealth accumulation, and erosion of rights. These maladies are directly linked to the long-standing extraction-oriented economies and, more recently, the expansion of the extractive frontier and the implementation of new technologies in fossil fuels, mining, and agriculture. While the fields of sociology, political ecology, anthropology, and geography have recognized the significance of extractivism, they have largely overlooked the role of art and cultural practices in studies of extractivism and post-extractivism.

On the other hand, the field of art theory has produced insightful analyses of artwork that address extraction, environmental degradation, and the climate crisis. However, a purely art theory perspective that does not engage firsthand and in depth with collective action remains limited and fails to fully account for the role, processes, and politics of art in anti- and post-extractivist movements.

Creating Worlds Otherwise is a groundbreaking study that explores the narratives that subaltern groups generate around extractivism and how they develop, communicate, and mobilize these narratives through art and cultural practices. The project, which took place.six years, focused on creative resistance to extractivism in Argentina and builds on extensive experience working on environmental justice projects and campaigns in Argentina and the UK.

This innovative contribution to the fields of Latin American studies, political ecology, cultural studies, and art theory addresses pressing questions about what post-extractivist worlds might look like and how such visions can be put into practice. By foregrounding the role of art and cultural practices in the study of extractivism, Creating Worlds Otherwise offers a fresh perspective on the complex dynamics of power, resistance, and transformation in Latin America and beyond.

Dimension: 260 x 168 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9780826504562