[STS-Africa] Call for Papers, Burning questions: The quest for ‘modern’ energy sources in/for Africa

[Uli Beisel]

*Call for Papers*

*Burning questions: The quest for ‘modern’ energy sources in/for Africa*

Interdisciplinary workshop: 15-16^th December 2014, Bayreuth, Germany

Organised by: Uli Beisel and Julien McHardy

Application (abstract of up to 800 words) via email by October 15, 2014, 
uli.beisel[at]uni-bayreuth.de or julien[at]mchardy.eu


The workshop ‘Burning Questions’ will start to explore /burning/ as both 
a theoretical lens and a central feature of human life. We invite 
contributions that investigate burning practices empirically and those 
that explore burning as a concept to think about the energetic processes 
by which our world is composed, ordered and transformed. We are 
particularly interested in work that uses empirical work on burning 
(preferably Africa based) to inform theoretical considerations of the 
term. Invited papers might deal with burning across a range of 
technologies and inquire for example into the following questions:

  * How is ‘burning’ in the process of becoming reconfigured in Africa?
  * Which kinds of burning (and by extension carbon emissions) have in
    the past qualified as wanted or dangerous? How is this changing today?
  * What characterizes ‘modern’ and ‘clean’ energy, and what is
    considered as ‘outdated’ and ‘dirty’ (or smoky) ways of burning?
  * What is the potential of burning as a conceptual device?

Burning or combustion has accompanied humans throughout history and 
combustion is still key to today’s production of electricity, heating, 
(auto)mobility and goods. However, in times of climate change and 
growing awareness of the finite nature of fossil fuel reserves, 
humanity’s reliance on fossilized energy sources has come under 
increased scrutiny. In attempts to move beyond our dependency on fossil 
fuels and to slow down climate change, much hope is invested in burning 
/different/ materials than before, as well as in burning materials 
/differently/. Attempts to burn /better/ informs projects on biofuels, 
improved ovens, biomass pelleting and solar power. Burning matter 
however is not only important as fuel but for food too. Slash and burn 
agriculture, charcoal and wood related deforestation are prominent 
examples of burning badly, while advocates of so-called biochar argue 
that the carbonization of sustainably grown biomass for soil 
fertilization can help to capture or burry carbon from the atmosphere. 
Burning is also important in processing our waste, including the 
incineration of human and animal remains. On e-waste dumps cables from 
e-waste are burned to lay bare copper, contributing to the recycling of 
valuable raw materials. Situated in this broad context, the proposed 
interdisciplinary workshop explores ‘burning’, its uses, practices and 
meanings in society, and aims to look closely at some of the practices 
through which combustion is incorporated in the ‘social-energetic 
metabolism’ (Mitchell) of contemporary life on the African continent. **




-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://lists.wiser.org.za/pipermail/sts-africa/attachments/20140929/0f5e3bc1/attachment.htm>