Wanting the Earth: A Reading Group

Wanting the Earth is a reading group on the politics of climate change and possible responses to it. In the early weeks of the reading group, there is a particular focus on left-wing arguments for and against the concept of a “Green New Deal”.

The reading group will meet every fortnight in A4 Sounds studios, as part of our We Only Want the Earth programme. The texts for the first nine sessions are given below. The selection of a text does not imply endorsement; many of the selected texts contradict and critique each other. Participants are asked to read each session’s texts in advance.

Who?
The discussions of each text will be informal and open to anyone interested; no background knowledge of these topics is required.

When?
Tuesdays 7pm – 9pm
Fortnightly from 25th Feb

Reading Sessions

25th Feb	Session 1	Green New Borders?
10th Mar	Session 2	Green Growth?
24th Mar	Session 3	Green Extractivism?
7th Apr	Session 4	Red Deal
21st Apr	Session 5	Lithium
5th May	Session 6	Common Wealth
19th May	Session 7	Climate Leviathan
2nd Jun	Session 8	Thinkin’ Rebellion
16th Jun	Session 9	Whose Rebellion?
30th Jun onwards	Continues	TBD

Session 1 : Green New Borders?

Text 1	This is how a Green New Deal could save the planet \| Naomi Klein
Text 2	Playing With Fire: Securing the Borders of a Green New Deal \| Angela Mitropoulos
Text 3	Using drones to watch refugees drown exposes the inhumanity of border enforcement \| Phil McDuff

Session 2: Green Growth?

Text 1	When the Green New Deal Goes Global \| Quinn Slobodian
Text 2	Limits of the Green New Deal \| John McCollum

Session 3: Green Extractivism?

Text 1	Plan, Mood, Battlefield – Reflections on the Green New Deal \| Thea Riofrancos
Text 2	End the “Green” Delusions: Industrial-scale Renewable Energy is Fossil Fuel+ \| Alexander Dunlap

Session 4: Red Deal

Text 1	A Red Deal \| Nick Estes
Text 2	What the coup against Evo Morales means to indigenous people like me \| Nick Estes

Session 5: Lithium

Text 1	Bolivia coup against Morales opens opportunity for multinational mining companies \| C.J. Atkins
Text 2	Resisting Green Colonialism: Lithium, Bolivia, and the Green New Deal \| Daniel Willis
Text 3	The spiralling environmental cost of our lithium battery addiction \| Amit Katwala

Session 6: Common Wealth

Text 1	“Living Together Shouldn’t Put Us at War With One Another or With the Earth” \| An Interview with Jedediah Purdy by Alyssa Battistoni
Text2	Degrowth: a theory of radical abundance \| Jason Hickel

Session 7: Climate Leviathan

Text 1	Climate Justice and the Emergence of Planetary Sovereignty \| Joel Wainwright & Geoff Mann
Text 2	States of Emergency: Imagining a politics for an age of accelerated climate change \| Alyssa Battistoni

Session 8: Thinkin’ Rebellion

Text 1	Roger Hallam on Extinction Rebellion \| Politics Theory Other Podcast
Text 2	Dear XR, why not be more honest with your participants? Or, why thinking about social movements actually matters \| Laurence Cox

Session 9: Whose Rebellion?

Text 1	Stop Asking People of Color to Get Arrested to Protest Climate Change \| Tatiana Garavito & Nathan Thanki
Text 2	Extinction Rebellion Has a Politics Problem \| Erica X Eisen
Text 3	Whose extinction, whose rebellion \| Richard Seymour

Where?

A4 Sounds
St Joseph’s Parade
Upper Dorset Street
Google Maps Link

Join the conversation:

Twitter: a4sounds #WantingTheEarth #WeOnlyWantTheEarth
Facebook Event Page: WantingTheEarth