Jones’s book and talk are about the way that the concept of “energy” itself got bound together with fossil fuel extraction, settler colonialism, and extractive forms of labor in the massive energy transitions of the 19th and early 20th centuries. In this workshop, Jones will provide a short overview of energy humanities methodologies and the history of fossil modernity, in which the very concept of “energy” got bound together with fossil fuel extraction and exploitative labor regimes. Then, we will look together at objects drawn from UW-Madison collections and think together about how to see—and resist—exploitative energy and labor regimes in visual and material culture. No preparation needed: please come prepared to look and think together about the energy culture we’re stuck in—and how we might imagine other and better energies.
*Registration is mandatory for participation in the workshop. Please register by emailing cvc@mailplus.wisc.edu.
