Join us on Thursday, June 11th, from 18 hrs (German time) for the last RUSTLab lecture of this summer term. Thea Riofrancos will present her work on “Extraction: The Frontiers of Green Capitalism”.
An in-depth investigation into the growing industry of green technologies and the environmental, social, and political consequences of the mining it requires.
In the fight against climate change, lithium’s role in reducing emissions by powering green economies is a mixed blessing. Drawing on groundbreaking fieldwork in Chile, Nevada, and Portugal, Thea Riofrancos explores the environmental and social costs of the global race to expand lithium mining amid supply chain concerns. With haunting descriptions of vulnerable ecosystems, she examines how mining harms landscapes, provokes protest, takes center stage in national politics, and links countries on the peripheries of the world economy to huge corporations, commodity markets, and powerful investors. Riofrancos traces the history of global extraction from colonial conquest to the 1970s energy crisis to the still-uncertain green future.
While an unregulated mining boom could inflict irreversible harm, Riofrancos offers compelling ideas about how to harmonize climate action with social justice. Across the world’s extractive frontiers, we encounter the most brutal aspects of capitalism – but also witness inspiring visions for our planetary future.
Thea Riofrancos has been featured in Granta, the Guardian, the New York Times and the Washington Post. She is a political science professor at Providence College, and a strategic codirector of the Climate and Community Institute. She lives in Providence, Rhode Island.
Location: Mining Museum Bochum (Am Bergbaumuseum 28, 44791 Bochum) and Zoom
Zoom Link
PW: RUSTlab
You will find additional resources and information on this term’s guiding theme Scattered Grounds here on our website.