Ecocide as Semiocide: The Demise of Nature and Its Impact on Meaning
You are cordially invited to the second seminar talk hosted by the Ecocide Interdisciplinarity Series Talks for Justice. Join us as we delve into “Ecocide as Semiocide: The Demise of Nature and Its Impact on Meaning”, presented by Dr. Yogi Hendlin from Erasmus University Rotterdam. This seminar-lecture offers an innovative space for students, staff and public interested in the intersection of justice, law, environmental humanities, sustainability, governance, transitions, and environmental philosophy. It serves as a unique platform to explore interdisciplinary perspectives and gain fresh insights beyond disciplinary boundaries. Don't miss this opportunity to broaden your understanding and engage in thought-provoking discussions. You can register for this lecture via the online form (see link below).
Seminar Abstract
Where does the idea come from, that it is viable to artificially reproduce ecosystem services as a substitute for continuing to destroy functioning ecosystems? From mining to the green revolution, industrial culture has assured us that the costs — to nature and human nature, are unavoidable, not that bad, and are simply the price we pay for progress and innovation. This constraint into a monologic of nature-adversarial technologies assumes that the status quo is the only option, that there is no alternative. Scientists and indigenous peoples for a long time have been claiming the opposite: that the Archimedean point that must remain fixed is that of living in balance with the complexity of our biosphere, that these limits cannot be transgressed without remainder, and that respect is called for. This talk will discuss concrete examples from mining, agriculture, and other industrial processes to analyze how the contemporary crisis of meaning is intimately tied to the ecological crisis, and approaches solutions through actions that multisolve for all actors rather than just carbon, disembodied biodiversity, or any other single-metric approach.
Yogi Hale Hendlin works at the junction of environmental philosophy and public health, investigating questions of ecological justice and the structures that impede health. An assistant professor at Erasmus University Rotterdam, and a research associate at the University of California, San Francisco, Hendlin is the principal of the Feral Ecologies Lab, and editor-in-chief of the journal Biosemiotics.
Conceptualizing Ecocide
This event is organised in the context of Conceptualizing Ecocide, one of the signature projects that are part of the strategic theme Pathways to Sustainability .
- Start date and time
- End date and time
- Location
- Janskerkhof 2/3 Room 019
- Registration
Please register via the online registration form (until 26 April)