Unsere Kollegin Lilian Pungas untersucht in ihrem am 12. Juli 2022 erschienenen Artikel die Naturbeziehungen von Kleingärtner:innen in Datschensiedlungen in Ostestland.

Abstract

This article contributes to the understanding of the complexity of human-nature relationships. Through hermeneutic analysis of more than 60 semi-structured in-depth interviews (2019-2021), I identify five prevalent human-nature relationship models within the Food Self-Provisioning (FSP) practice in Eastern Estonia (‘master‘, ‘user‘ and ‘steward of nature‘ as well as ‘partner with’ and ‘participant in nature‘). As an ambiguous model, the ‘stewardship of nature’ merits my particular attention when exploring how gardeners perceive, relate to and act upon nature in general and their own gardening practice in particular. Using a relational sociological approach, I locate the observed relationship models within the so-called ‘space of social relationships with nature’ (see Eversberg et al. 2022 in this Special Issue) which allows me to capture the various ways in which humans mentally and practically relate to nature. The analysis reveals seemingly contrary yet concurrent manifestations of human-nature relationships that can only be explained by exploring their embeddedness in both social power relations and societal nature relations that constitute the individually observed human-nature relationships. Furthermore, I demonstrate how ‘immediate’ engagement with nature results in rather caring and partner-like relationships whereas ‘abstract’ and alienated experiences often feature instrumental logic with implicit or explicit hierarchy.

Lilian Pungas (2022): Who stewards whom? A paradox spectrum of human–nature relationships of Estonian dacha gardeners, Innovation: The European Journal of Social Science Research, DOI: 10.1080/13511610.2022.2095990

https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/13511610.2022.2095990

Unsere flumen-Mitarbeitende Lilian Pungas und Martin Fritz hielten auf der diesjährigen ESEE-Konferenz Vorträge, Martin moderierte zudem den Special Track „From an aspirational policy framework to a real agent of change?“

Lilian Pungas stellte in zwei Präsentationen ihre bisherige Forschung vor:

Who stewards whom? A paradox spectrum of human-nature relationships when working with the soil

This contribution is of empirical nature and based on more than 60 semi-structured in-depth interviews with people that ‘work with the soil’ and practice Food Self-Provisioning (FSP) in Eastern Estonia. The ‘space of social relationships with nature’ is used here as a relational approach to locate various manifestations of care and stewardship to each other and to explore their embeddedness in social relations of power and in specific societal nature relations. Directly perceived experiences and challenges towards nature (be it soil, insects or weather) within the FSP practice bring about manifestations towards nature that can seem paradox at the first sight, that are diverse, dynamic and context-dependent. This relational complexity needs to be considered if we want to overcome destructive human-nature relation(ship)s, in general, and cultivate more sustainable and caring agri-food systems, in particular.

 Invisible bioeconomies. A framework to assess the ‘blind spots’ of hegemonic bioeconomy models

As one of the latest buzzwords in agri-food system transformation bioeconomy promises jobs, economic growth and decreased environmental pressure. I will explore the hegemonic narratives and political goals articulated within respective bioeconomy strategy papers of EU (2018) and Estonia (2022) with a specific focus on agriculture and agri-food systems. Doing so I will draw on the Bielefeld subsistence approach and on its three-dimensional colonialism-capitalism-patriarchy nexus. I will demonstrate how 1) different geographical regions, 2) environmental externalities, and 3) widespread BE practices that all contribute to, and constitute the very basis of the hegemonic bioeconomy model, remain unrecognised or devalued as ‚blind spots‘. In fact, current BE models are all built on the prerequisite of the exploitation and devaluation of specific spheres of the BE. As such, the currently proposed bioeconomy models serve as just another label for a ‚green growth‘ program, and will additionally perpetuate the very same power relations while avoiding a ‘genuine’ socio-ecological transformation.

Dr. Martin Fritz stellte die Repräsentativbefragung von flumen vor:

Eco-social mentalities and ways of living in the transformation to an eco-social policy – Empirical findings from a representative survey in Germany 2021/22

An important aspect in eco-social transformations are mentalities and practices. While, for example, mentalities oriented at the growth paradigm and fossil practices like frequent flying are obstacles to the political implementation of an eco-social policy, other more ecological mentalities and caring practices may function as drivers. Based on Bourdieu’s theory of practice and concept of habitus this paper investigates the links between people’s social positions, their eco-social mentalities and practices. In the paper the results of a representative multi-mode survey conducted in Germany 2021/22 are presented. We asked people about social and ecological attitudes, preferences and values, collected data about their everyday practices and their social status and position. Applying dimension reduction methods such factor-, correspondence- and cluster analysis we discover the eco-social mentalities and ways of living that currently exist in Germany and plot them into the space of social positions. Implications for social conflicts and inequalities are discussed.

In der Woche vom 13. bis 17. Juni findet die 14. Internationale Konferenz der European Society for Ecological Economics in Pisa, Italien, statt. Um unsere Arbeit dort zu präsentieren und mit Kolleg*innen zu diskutieren, nehmen von flumen an dieser Veranstaltung Lilian Pungas und Martin Fritz teil.

Lilian Pungas hält zwei Vorträge. Im ersten mit dem Titel „Who stewards whom? A paradox spectrum of human-nature relationships when working with the soil” stellt sie Ergebnisse aus ihrer Feldarbeit in Estland vor, in der sie die Erfahrungen und Haltungen von Personen, die dort Semi-Subsistenzlandwirtschaft betreiben, in über 60 qualitativen Interviews gesammelt hat. In ihrem zweiten Vortrag „Invisible bioeconomies. A framework to assess the ‘blind spots’ of hegemonic bioeconomy models“ vergleicht sie die Bioökonomiestrategien der EU und Estlands im Hinblick auf Landwirtschaft und Ernährung.

Martin Fritz stellt in seinem Vortrag “Eco-social mentalities in the transformation to an eco-social policy – Empirical findings from a representative survey in Germany” erste Analysen und Ergebnisse aus der Bevölkerungsbefragung vor, die von flumen im Herbst und Winter 21/22 durchgeführt wurde, um sowohl Einstellungen zur Bioökonomie als auch generelle sozial-ökologische Haltungen und Praktiken zu erfassen und auf ihre Zusammenhänge zu untersuchen.

Mattias Schmelzer organisiert und kommentiert das Panel „Grenzen des Wachstums «nach dem Boom»: Wirtschaftswachstum,  Wachstumskritik und (Post-)Wachstumsgesellschaft seit den 1970er Jahren“ auf den Schweizer Geschichtstagen am 1. Juli 2022.

Mehr zu den Schweizer Geschichtstagen hier

Flumens Projektleiter Dennis Eversberg nimmt am 1. Juni 2022 im Rahmen des NABU-Online-Talks „Welche Ökonomie braucht eine Bioökonomie“ an der Podiumsdiskussion zum Thema „Wie könnte man zukünftig ein nachhaltigeres Wirtschaften umsetzen?“ teil.

Mehr Informationen zum Inhalt, Programm und zur Anmeldung sind hier und im Flyer zu finden:

Scientific Coffee Human-Forest-Relationships presents:

1st June 2022

13-15 CET / 14-16 EEST

Input: Maija Halonen (University of Eastern Finland)
Socio-economic forest relations in Northern peripheries

Maija Halonen is human geographer with background in social policy. Currently she is working as postdoctoral researcher in the University of Eastern Finland and her research interests focus on the socio-economic development of Northern forest peripheries. In her project founded by the Kone Foundation, she approaches the development in the frames of global sustainability transition and through the case studies from the East and North Finland. 

In her presentation, she scrutinises discursive scenarios and frames which analysis is based on the documents and interviews with regional development actors. First, she describes the alternative scenarios for expected development paths and identifies which factors are related to forests. Then she presents the findings of the hegemonic and alternative discourses on forest-related development and constructs the frames which describe the regional forest relations. Based on the results, aspirations and good will describe different phases of the relations than the current reality and therefore forest relations seem to be transforming but very slowly in Northern peripheries. The most striking note call for understanding, appreciation and acknowledgement of forest relations which people in the middle of the specific forests have and have had for generations. 

Zoom-link: https://uni-jena-de.zoom.us/j/61027392103

Meeting-ID: 610 2739 2103
Kenncode: 513063

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The “Scientific Coffee” sessions continue our cooperation and exchange on the relations between society, humans and forests that we started with the workshop “Contested Society-Nature-Relations. Forest related Emotions, Practices & Conflicts in Times of Societal Change” in May 2021. They give room for open and relaxed discussions on current research subjects related to human and society relations to forests. The Scientific Coffee sessions take place as often as we find the time to organise another session – but at least one session per semester is planned.

More info on our past workshop: https://www.flumen.uni-jena.de/workshop-contested-society-nature-relations-forest-related-emotions-practices-conflicts-in-times-of-societal-change-27-28-may-2021-2/c

If you are interested in contributing to the next “Scientific Coffee HFR”, please contact judith.kiss@uni-jena.de with info on your subject (title and short abstract) and a preferred Wednesday (13-15 CET / 14-16 EEST).

Energy, work, and power are intertwined, both in the scientific definition of energy (the ability to do work), and in the political manifestation of human-fuel practices. Fossil fuel advocates rely upon the threat of job loss and energy dependency to mobilize affection for oil, coal or gas, but many renewable energy advocates also adopt this framework in calls for a just energy transition. Doing so helps keep modern energy cultures yoked to extractivism. Cara Daggett traced the historical emergence of the relationship between energy and work, focusing upon how work came to be understood and valued as a site of energy transformation. The energy-work ethos informed the emergent fossil fuel culture, wherein technical categories of work and waste intersect with racialized, and gendered, judgments of productivity and sloth. Thinking about energy historically suggests that shifting our fuel cultures will require a corresponding shift in (post)-industrial cultures of work and Western understandings of freedom.

Cara Daggett gave the lecture on 19 May 2022 online as part of the workshop “Mental infrastructures of modern fossil and bio-based societies”. She is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Political Science at Virginia Tech where she researches feminist political ecology. See more under https://www.caranewdaggett.com/.

Recent publications of her:
„Energy and Domination: Contesting the Fossil Myth of Fuel Expansion,“ (Environmental Politics) 
„Toward Feminist Energy Systems: Why Adding Women and Solar Panels Isn’t Enough,“ with Shannon E. Bell and Christine Labuski (2020, Energy Research & Social Science),
„Petro-masculinity: Fossil Fuels and Authoritarian Desire“ (2018, Millennium: Journal of International Studies)
Book: The Birth of Energy (Duke 2019)

Am 12. Mai 2022 hielt Philip Koch einen Impulsvortrag mit anschließender Diskussionsrunde zum Thema „Bioökonomie und Gerechtigkeit“. Der Vortrag war Teil des Biodialogs, das im Forschungsprojekt BIOCIVIS vom 12. bis 14. Mai 2022 in Münster organisiert worden war. Beim Biodialog diskutieren und mitentscheiden Bürger:innen, wie bioökonomische Prozesse, die nicht mehr auf fossile Rohstoffe wie Erdöl, sondern auf nachwachsende Ressourcen zurückgreifen, in Zukunft genutzt werden sollen. Weitere Informationen werden in Kürze hier veröffentlicht.

Vom 30.4. bis zum 14.5. arbeitet Dr. Martin Fritz von flumen als Gastforscher an der School of Social Work der Universität zu Lund. Während des Aufenthaltes wird er mit Prof. Max Koch und weiteren Kolleg:innen an verschiedenen Artikeln zum Thema ’nachhaltige Wohlfahrt ohne Wachstum‘ arbeiten und dort seine Expertise in statistischen Analysen relationaler Mentalitätsforschung einbringen. Unter anderem wird er einen Workshop dazu veranstalten, wie Korrespondenzanalysen zur Auswertung sozialwissenschaftlicher Umfragedaten genutzt werden können.

Die Universität Lund ist eines der wichtigsten Zentren für die Forschung zur sozial-ökologischen Transformation in Europa. Verbindungen zu deutschen Instituten und Projekten wie unserer Nachwuchsgruppe „Mentalitäten im Fluss. Vorstellungswelten und Sozialstrukten in modernen, biokreislauf-basierten Gesellschaften (flumen)“ haben eine lange Tradition und sind wichtig für die internationale Vernetzung der Nachhaltigkeitsforschung.

Am 23. Mai 2022 hält Matthias Schmelzer den Vortrag „Vom Luddismus zu den «limits to growth»: Zu einer Geschichte der Wachstumskritik“ in der Ringvorlesung zum Thema Wirtschaftswachstum und Wachstumskritik an der Universität Bern. Mehr Informationen hier.