About the Conference
In the past year, unstoppable wildfires, devastating floods, powerful hurricanes, and the deadly Coronavirus pandemic have resulted in widespread death, despair, and destitution. The very terrain of global environmental action has been riven by political dramas and realignments played out on the international stage. Such un/predictable environments remind us not only of the interconnectedness of human systems with more-than-human ecologies, but also how multiple crises can converge and accumulate to produce intersectional impacts.
Our capacity to respond to environmental calamities depends upon how we understand the uncertainties associated with precipitous changes, the nature of vulnerabilities, and our ethical commitments to anticipatory and ongoing care and repair of the natural world.
To foster transformative debate across three continents, we organized a digital academic conference at the convergence of critical and emancipatory practices around research, scholarship, art, and activism. The conference - which spanned three time zones (Vancouver, Belfast, and Allahabad) over two days, May 20-21, 2021 - interrogated how we might begin to predict and avoid socio-ecological harms and disasters. How do we frame the issue of "un/predictability" in our narratives, solutions and practices, and how un/predictable are the intended outcomes?
This conference was co-hosted by the Public Humanities Hub at the University of British Columbia, Vancouver and the School of History, Anthropology, Philosophy and Politics at Queen’s University, Belfast, in collaboration with the University of Allahabad. It was supported in part by funding from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council.
Learn more by visiting the Conference Site.
Our capacity to respond to environmental calamities depends upon how we understand the uncertainties associated with precipitous changes, the nature of vulnerabilities, and our ethical commitments to anticipatory and ongoing care and repair of the natural world.
To foster transformative debate across three continents, we organized a digital academic conference at the convergence of critical and emancipatory practices around research, scholarship, art, and activism. The conference - which spanned three time zones (Vancouver, Belfast, and Allahabad) over two days, May 20-21, 2021 - interrogated how we might begin to predict and avoid socio-ecological harms and disasters. How do we frame the issue of "un/predictability" in our narratives, solutions and practices, and how un/predictable are the intended outcomes?
This conference was co-hosted by the Public Humanities Hub at the University of British Columbia, Vancouver and the School of History, Anthropology, Philosophy and Politics at Queen’s University, Belfast, in collaboration with the University of Allahabad. It was supported in part by funding from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council.
Learn more by visiting the Conference Site.
About the Blog
Follow our Conference Blog for updates, event debriefs, and continuing discussion about what “Un/Predictable” means to you. We’ll be posting presenter commentaries, participant reactions, photo essays, and more – stay tuned, or get in touch to contribute.