IJS Lecture: Michael Fisch, "Finessing Ecology: Experiments in the (N)ature of Post 3.11 Japan"

September 7, 2023

4:00PM - 5:30PM

Journalism Building 251

Add to Calendar 2023-09-07 16:00:00 2023-09-07 17:30:00 IJS Lecture: Michael Fisch, "Finessing Ecology: Experiments in the (N)ature of Post 3.11 Japan" The Institute for Japanese Studies presents: "Finessing Ecology: Experiments in the (N)ature of Post 3.11 Japan" Michael Fisch University of Chicago Abstract: Climate change appears to be unstoppable, putting our future under an increasing threat of global ecological collapse. Thus, it is no surprise that in recent years ecology has become a matter of central concern for anthropologists. Despite the flurry of publications on the topic, many with ecology in the title, there has been little reflection among scholars on the nature of the guiding presuppositions behind the term. My talk examines the conceptual and technological possibilities of ecology through an exploration of various ecological projects underway as part of the post 3.11 disaster reconstruction in Northeast Japan. Moving from massive concrete seawalls to efforts to re-establish vibrant coastal communities within a dynamic environment, I question the way in which the state and local residents are mobilizing ecological thought for new coastal futures. Only by reconceptualizing ecology, I argue, will we be able to establish a viable future framework for ecological governance. Download the PDF flyer here. Michael Fisch is an Associate Professor of Anthropology at the University of Chicago. His research is situated at the intersection of sociocultural anthropology and science and technology studies and is concerned with shifting conceptualizations and practices around nature, culture, and technology. He is the author of An Anthropology of the Machine: Tokyo’s Commuter Train Network (University of Chicago Press June 2018) in which he develops a technography of collective life constituted in the interplay between humans and machines within the Tokyo’s commuter train network. His current research explores the emergence of “experimental ecologies” in Japan, Israel, and the United States as sites of speculative articulations of ecological governance for an era of increasing climate crisis. Journalism Building 251 OSU ASC Drupal 8 ascwebservices@osu.edu America/New_York public

2023-09-07 16:00:00 2023-09-07 17:30:00 IJS Lecture: Michael Fisch, "Finessing Ecology: Experiments in the (N)ature of Post 3.11 Japan" The Institute for Japanese Studies presents: "Finessing Ecology: Experiments in the (N)ature of Post 3.11 Japan" Michael Fisch University of Chicago  Abstract: Climate change appears to be unstoppable, putting our future under an increasing threat of global ecological collapse. Thus, it is no surprise that in recent years ecology has become a matter of central concern for anthropologists. Despite the flurry of publications on the topic, many with ecology in the title, there has been little reflection among scholars on the nature of the guiding presuppositions behind the term. My talk examines the conceptual and technological possibilities of ecology through an exploration of various ecological projects underway as part of the post 3.11 disaster reconstruction in Northeast Japan. Moving from massive concrete seawalls to efforts to re-establish vibrant coastal communities within a dynamic environment, I question the way in which the state and local residents are mobilizing ecological thought for new coastal futures. Only by reconceptualizing ecology, I argue, will we be able to establish a viable future framework for ecological governance. Download the PDF flyer here.  Michael Fisch is an Associate Professor of Anthropology at the University of Chicago. His research is situated at the intersection of sociocultural anthropology and science and technology studies and is concerned with shifting conceptualizations and practices around nature, culture, and technology. He is the author of An Anthropology of the Machine: Tokyo’s Commuter Train Network (University of Chicago Press June 2018) in which he develops a technography of collective life constituted in the interplay between humans and machines within the Tokyo’s commuter train network. His current research explores the emergence of “experimental ecologies” in Japan, Israel, and the United States as sites of speculative articulations of ecological governance for an era of increasing climate crisis.      Journalism Building 251 East Asian Studies Center easc@osu.edu America/New_York public

The Institute for Japanese Studies presents:

"Finessing Ecology: Experiments in the (N)ature of Post 3.11 Japan"

Michael Fisch
University of Chicago

Abstract: Climate change appears to be unstoppable, putting our future under an increasing threat of global ecological collapse. Thus, it is no surprise that in recent years ecology has become a matter of central concern for anthropologists. Despite the flurry of publications on the topic, many with ecology in the title, there has been little reflection among scholars on the nature of the guiding presuppositions behind the term. My talk examines the conceptual and technological possibilities of ecology through an exploration of various ecological projects underway as part of the post 3.11 disaster reconstruction in Northeast Japan. Moving from massive concrete seawalls to efforts to re-establish vibrant coastal communities within a dynamic environment, I question the way in which the state and local residents are mobilizing ecological thought for new coastal futures. Only by reconceptualizing ecology, I argue, will we be able to establish a viable future framework for ecological governance. Download the PDF flyer here.

Michael Fisch is an Associate Professor of Anthropology at the University of Chicago. His research is situated at the intersection of sociocultural anthropology and science and technology studies and is concerned with shifting conceptualizations and practices around nature, culture, and technology. He is the author of An Anthropology of the Machine: Tokyo’s Commuter Train Network (University of Chicago Press June 2018) in which he develops a technography of collective life constituted in the interplay between humans and machines within the Tokyo’s commuter train network. His current research explores the emergence of “experimental ecologies” in Japan, Israel, and the United States as sites of speculative articulations of ecological governance for an era of increasing climate crisis.

Free and Open to the Public

If you require an accommodation, such as live captioning, to participate in this event, please contact EASC at easc@osu.edu. Requests made at least two weeks in advance of the event will generally allow us to provide seamless access, but the university will make every effort to meet requests made after this date.

This event is supported by a U.S. Department of Education Title VI grant to The Ohio State University East Asian Studies Center.