CFP: Marx in the Anthropocene: Capital, Nature, Ecology, Environment

The claim that ecological collapse represents one of the main great challenges of the 21st century has now become a truism. It is no longer a belief held by groups associated with ecological militancy: mainstream media, international organizations, multinational corporations, and areas traditionally far removed from what is usually understood as ecological sensibilities have, for a decade now, shown clear awareness of the urgency of the climate problem. Nevertheless, as the data note, the awareness about, for example, the climate problem is not matched by real effective political action on the global scale capable of countering it. This conference aims to make a Marxist-oriented critical rereading of the reasons that prevent the production of effective actions capable of meeting what currently appears to be the fundamental need of humanity:  a radical socio-ecological transformation.

Building on a debate that is well established in European and non-European areas, this conference aims to establish the first opportunity for international discussion in Italy on the relationship between Marxism and the fundamental questions related to the environment and ecology. More specifically, the question concerns the possibility for Marxist thought to critically illuminate the contradictions that prevent a comprehensive interpretation of the relations between society and nature. Through the perhaps overused name "anthropocene," the conference aims to focus the discussion on the rifts and tensions that characterize the present era and to screen them in the light of Marxist thought.

The conference will be held at the Università Iuav di Venezia on March 11-14, 2025.

The organization invites scholars to participate at the call by sending abstracts of papers, and closed panels (max. 4 people and 2 co-organizers) on the following fields: 
- Environmental sociology, Social movements (keynote speakers Nancy Fraser and Brett Clark)
- Eco-marxism and Ecological Economics (keynote speakers Joan Martinez Alier and M. Graziano Ceddia)
- Society and Natural Science (keynote speakers Helena Sheehan, Salvatore Engel-Di Mauro)
- Philosophy, Natural History (keynote speakers John Bellamy Foster, Angelica Nuzzo)
- Socio-Ecological transformation (keynote speakers Qingzhi Huan, Emanuele Leonardi)
- Urbanism (keynote speakers to be confirmed)
- Art and aesthetics (keynote speaker Linn Burchert)

A possible, but not exclusive, list of topics that could be explored are: Historical roots of Ecological Marxism, Marx and Engels' conception of nature, dialectical materialism and nature, Marx and the philosophy of nature, Ecological imperialism and the global ecological crisis, Climate justice movements and anti-capitalism, Capital Accumulation and Planetary Boundaries, Marxist Analysis of Corporate Environmentalism and Greenwashing, Socialist States and the Environment, Working Class and Ecology, Urban Planning from a eco-Marxist perspective, Extractivism and Energy Production, Critique of Science and Technology, Environmental Justice, gender, class and racialized people, Economic and Ecological Planning, Critique of capitalist Sustainability and Circular Economy.

The application for participation in the conference should be sent to [email protected], by the deadline of October 31, 2024.

Two separate files (.docx or .pdf) should be attached to the email. The first should contain the title of the proposed paper and an abstract (250 words maximum); the second, should contain the proposer's name and academic affiliation, if any.

Proposers will be notified of the selection outcome by December 15, 2024.

The conference fee is set at 40 euros for PhD candidates and post docs, 100 euros for professors and permanent positions.

The following keynote speakers have confirmed their attendance at the conference:
Linn Burchert Zentralinstitut für Kunstgeschichte Munich
Michele Graziano Ceddia University of Bern
Brett Clark University of Utha
Salvatore Engel-Di Mauro UNY New Paltz New York
John Bellamy Foster University of Oregon
Nancy Fraser the New School for Social Research
Quingzhi Huan University of Peking
Emanuele Leonardi Università di Bologna
Joan Martinez Alier Autonomous University of Barcelona
Angelica Nuzzo Brooklyn College CUNY
Helena Sheehan Dublin City University

The scientific committee of the conference: Jacopo Nicola Bergamo Universidad de Vigo, Mattia Bertin Università Iuav di Venezia, Mario Farina Università Iuav di Venezia, Adriana Manzoni Università di Padova, Paolo Murrone Università di Pisa, Pietro Daniele Omodeo Università Ca’ Foscari di Venezia

The conference is funded by PRIN project “Understanding Natural History: Nature, Evolution and Human Beings. A New Philosophical Framework” (University of Padua, Università Iuav di Venezia, Polytechnic University of Turin) and the Università Iuav di Venezia project “Storia naturale dell’antropocene: pianificazione, progettazione, visioni”.