Sarah Whatmore: Practicing more-than-Human Geographies: Thinking with/through materials

Alexander von Humboldt Lecture Series 2011-2012 on "Spatial Practices" see also: www.ru.nl/humboldt Alexander von Humboldt Lecture: 'Practicing more-than-Human Geographies: Thinking with/through materials' Prof. Sarah Whatmore, School of Geography and the Environment, University of Oxford, UK Monday, Nov. 28, 2011 Abstract: The momentum of so-called 'post-humanist' approaches in the humanities and social sciences is on the rise, turning attention to the unfamiliar social agency of 'things' from animals to mobile phones. This lecture examines the distinctive contributions of recent currents in geographical research that insist on and amplify the more-than-human composition of social practices, relations and landscapes. Work in this vein reinvigorates cultural geographers' traditional interests in material culture through conversations with Science and Technology Studies and Political Theory. Focussing on the ways implications of such approaches for research practice, the lecture will be illustrated by examples of research on food networks, urban ecologies and environmental knowledge controversies.