Geography, Environment, and Society Colloquium Series: The Social Life of Land

The Social Life of Land with Wendy Wolford, Department of Development Sociology, Cornell University. 
This talk will be the keynote address of the annual Nature-Society Workshop.
Abstract: From the earliest hunter-gatherer communities to the formation of the modern nation state, land has been central to the organization of society. Merriam Webster defines land as “the solid part of the earth’s surface that is not covered by water.” But land is so much more – it is the stuff of dreams, of fantasies, of control both past and future – land is soil and sovereignty, territorial ambition, wild frontier, and visions of empire. Thinking theoretically and empirically about “the social life of land” is necessary to an understanding of why land is the site of such struggle – historically and today – and why the source of so many contemporary troubles, from climate change to the refugee crisis, may be traced back to how land is made to live or die.

For additional information, contact Jake Bendix jbendix@maxwell.syr.edu.  Sponsored by the Geography Department.