Slow Violence and the Environmentalism of the Poor

The violence wrought by climate change, toxic drift, deforestation, oil spills, and the environmental aftermath of war takes place gradually and often invisibly Using the innovative concept of slow violence to describe these threats, Rob Nixon focuses on the inattention we have paid to the attritional lethality of many environmental crises, in contrast with the sensational, spectacle driven messaging that impels public activism today Slow violence, because it is so readily ignored by a hard charging capitalism, exacerbates the vulnerability of ecosystems and of people who are poor, disempowered, and often involuntarily displaced, while fueling social conflicts that arise from desperation as life sustaining conditions erode.In a book of extraordinary scope, Nixon examines a cluster of writer activists affiliated with the environmentalism of the poor in the global South By approaching environmental justice literature from this transnational perspective, he exposes the limitations of the national and local frames that dominate environmental writing And by skillfully illuminating the strategies these writer activists deploy to give dramatic visibility to environmental emergencies, Nixon invites his readers to engage with some of the most pressing challenges of our time. Download Slow Violence and the Environmentalism of the Poor author Rob Nixon – kino-fada.fr This book is WOW This book is yuck I already knew fossil fuel companies were slimy and money hungry, avoiding environmental regulations whenever possible I knew that the U.S makes a habit of exporting our dirtiest businesses, and our trash literally , to poor countries without the political sway to c...Extract froma friend Here s what I did not realize.I did not realize that, even now, oil companies like Shell literally fund and militarize tyrannical governments that won t hold them accountable for harm to the environment or the people of their country I did not realize it was so common for them to do this, and then say they had no political sway when the government started literally killing those who start speaking out against the behavior of oil companies.I did not realize oil companies Extract froma friend Here s what I did not realize.I did not realize that, even now, oil companies like Shell literally fund and militarize tyrannical governments that won t hold them accountable for harm to the environment or the people of their country I did not realize it was so common for them to do this, and then say they had no political sway when the government started literally killing those who start speaking out against the behavior of oil companies.I did not realize oil companies have been excited about the new possibilities opened up by global warming, as the arctic continues to melt and make itpractical to start drilling up there I did not realize the U.S government was excited to help them expedite this process, by clearing away all the pesky red tape that would keep them from doing so.I did...One of the most important books I ve read in a long time.The most important book of literary criticism I ve read in five or six years, maybe longer And a bit disappointing.I ll start with the positives Nixon raises an absolutely central question for contemporary writers how can we develop forms of expression which confront the problem of slow violence primarily the environmental impact of our economic and political and personal actions in a compelling manner He s brilliant in framing the problem Most of our narrative and polemical forms focus The most important book of literary criticism I ve read in five or six years, maybe longer And a bit disappointing.I ll start with the positives Nixon raises an absolutely central question for contemporary writers how can we develop forms of expression which confront the problem of slow violence primarily the environmental impact of our econo...A lot of interesting concepts in this novel about the impact of less visible, delayed forms of environmental violence and how they disproportionately affect the POC poor However, the whole thing read a lot like an ode to the writer activists, and much like a high school book report at times, which, for me, detracted from the impact of the actual histories It would have been muchimpactful as a detailed chronology of slow violence, perhaps making occasional reference to writers as they rel A lot of interesting conc...useful and instructive for developing a terminology for ongoing ecological disasters and why post colonialism and environmental studies ought to becompatible than they heretofore have been alas, while focusing on the slow violence occurring in tandem with a sped up world of briefer atte...Well researched, well written Strong stuff A brilliant book.This is probably the most important book I ve read in a long time, and I highly recommend it to anyone concerned about environmental justice or social justice This is an academic text, but Nixon s writing is clear and interesting Because the most academic bits of the book are focused on postcolonialism and literary criticism, it s right up my alley But I think readers who are less interested in debates in literary scholarship can easily skim over the parts that focuson scholarly concern This is probably the most important book I ve read in a long time, and I highly recommend it to anyone concerned about environmental justice or social justice This is an academic text, but Nixon s writing is clear and interesting Because the most academic bits of the book are focused on postcolonialism and literary criticism, it s right up my alley But I think readers who are less interested in debates in literary scholarship can easily skim over the parts that focuson scholarly concerns if...7 10 I m of two minds about Slow Violence I wasn t particularly sold on ecocriticism as a critical method going into this book, and Nixon didn t quite persuade me as to its importance The concept is definitely intriguing, but I ve let to see an ecocritical reading that really made me consider a text in a new light in the same way that feminist or materialist readings often have Then again, I haven t really looked very hard, and perhaps I simply needgrounding to appreciate Nixon s book 7 10 I m of two minds about Slow Violence I wasn t particularly sold on ecocriticism as a critical method going into this book, and Nixon didn t quite persuade me as to its importance The concept is definitely intriguing, but I ve let to see an ecocritical reading that really made me consider a text in a new light in the same way that feminist or materialist readings often have Then again, I haven t really looked very hard, and perhaps I simply needgrounding to appreciate Nixon s book While I enjoyed his reading of...Nixon argues that transnational corporations in collusion with states have made a disheartening array of expropriations from local communities ecology people in the name of resource extraction ex oil and or development ex mega dams These struggles and their violences are difficult to represent because they occur on large scales of time and manifest in diffuse ways slow violence This is in contrast to a symbolic regime of spectacular, dramatic violence and warfare the bullet ridden c Nixon argues that transnational corporations in collusion with states have made a disheartening array of expropriations from loca...

• English
• 03 April 2018
Rob Nixon
• Hardcover
• 353 pages
• 0674049306
• Rob Nixon
• Slow Violence and the Environmentalism of the Poor