Month: August 2018

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Bandana Gyawali doctoral defense 23.8.2018

Bandana Gyawali will defend the doctoral dissertation entitled “Ambiguous Bikas – History of the Concept of Development in Nepal 1900-2006.” in the Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Helsinki, on 23 August 2018 at 11:00. The public examination will take place at the following address: PIII, Porthania (Yliopistonkatu 3).

Professor Mark Liechty, University of Illinois at Chicago, will serve as the opponent, and Professor Barry Gills as the custos.

The dissertation is also available in electronic form through the E-thesis service.

 

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Wel­come to the 4th Annual Conference of the World-Eco­logy Research Net­work in Helsinki, Fin­land, 15-18 Au­gust

Ex­tract­iv­isms, So­cial Move­ments and On­to­lo­gical Form­a­tions

Far from limited to resource and energy question, recent extractivisms have linked up with manifold forms of land grabbing and cash-crop agriculture to create new agrarian questions of survival and justice in an era of runaway climate change. Crucially, many Indigenous Peoples, peasants, workers, and other groups have confronted the extractivist projects. Many of them have not only opposed place-specific projects but questioned the Nature/Society dualisms that have framed and legitimated the racialized, gendered, and colonial domination that has been fundamental to capitalism’s environmental histories. We are witnessing a new wave of challenges to capitalism as an ontological formation – a new ontological politics that confronts capitalism as a world-ecology of power, re/production, and nature.

Conference top­ics in­clude:

Indigenous movements and extractivist projects – Social reproduction and extractivism – The financialization of commodities – Land grabbing – Representations of extractivism, class, and capital – Extractivism in the Global North – Environmental histories of resource and energy extraction – Imperialism and the Search for Cheap Natures – Labor movements and the labor process in extractive sectors – The feminist political economy and political ecology of extraction – Extractivism and climate change – Race, racism, and racial formation in extractivist projects and processes – Commodity frontiers – Global extractive industries and their politics – And other World-ecology related topics!
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Conflicts and resource politics in Myanmar, 15 August 2018

What: Discussion on the complex resource politics and its implications for the peace process in Myanmar. When: 15 August 2018, 10 am to 1:30 pm
Where: Think Corner (Tiedekulma), University of Helsinki, Yliopistonkatu 4
Confirm your participation: https://www.facebook.com/events/225937138001715/

Myanmar is experiencing a complicated process of transition towards a civilian government, multi-party democratic elections, and peace negotiations. At the same time, the recent opening of the country has resulted in an accelerating rush for the rich natural resources, including a boom in extractive industrial and agribusiness projects. Most of these resources are located in the ethnic states and many of the grievances of the various ethnic communities are entangled with the questions of access to and control over resources. In this event researchers, NGO representatives and social movement activists discuss the ways that land and other resource rights should be addressed as a part of conflict resolution towards sustainable peace in Myanmar.

The recent political changes in Myanmar has also meant a rush of different international development organisations to the country. Recently Finland too has decided to focus its support in Southeast Asia to Myanmar. The event includes a panel discussion on the Finland’s future role in Myanmar with perspectives from civil society, ministry officials and private sector. Continue reading “Conflicts and resource politics in Myanmar, 15 August 2018”