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Call for Contributions

ALEA Project 1:

The Asian Anthropocene in Dialogue

The Asian Anthropocene in Dialogue is an online publishing project initiated by the AAEH, as a part of the comprehensive programme Altered Earth in Asia. This project aims to elucidate different facets of the Asian Anthropocene in specific ways, conscious of social, political, economic, cultural, and demographic factors as well as the biogeophysical forces. This project is inspired by Professor Julia Thomas’s Altered Earth: Getting the Anthropocene Right (Cambridge University Press, 2022) and under her kind advisor.

We welcome works from multiple disciplines, especially from less-represented areas in Asia, Eurasia, and the Asia-Pacific regions. Accepted works will be presented on the AAEH website and promoted by the AAEH newsletter, reaching hundreds of our members and even broader audiences.

We encourage the contributors to explore the following themes and discuss the key questions raised by our Editorial Committee:

(Click on each theme for the key questions)

Animals
  • Has the human-animal relationship been exploitative across different historical periods in (South and South-East) Asia? Did colonialism alter this relationship radically?
  • Why are pets not perceived as a contributing factor to the global ecological crisis? Why are they not perceived as one of the factors contributing to the exploitation of natural resources?
Plants
  • What does the colonial archive offer in terms of empirics related to fauna transfer, promulgating ‘botanical imperialism’?
  • What insights can indigenous knowledge systems provide about the resilience and adaptation of plant species in the Asian Anthropocene?
  • How have plants been represented in colonial and post-colonial narratives of power, resistance, and survival in Asian contexts?
Microorganisms
  • Is it important to write the planetary chapter using the lens of microbes?
  • What would be the key methods to pursue this?
Water
  • Does the Urbanocene in Asia create a context to reflect on ‘colonial urban hydrology’, advancing the ‘colonial hydrology’ theoretical traction?
  • How can examining the interplay between urbanization and hydrology in Asia provide new perspectives on the socio-political dimensions of water governance?
  • To what extent does the study of colonial urban hydrology in Asia contribute to understanding broader patterns of environmental injustice in the Anthropocene?
Air
  • What would a historical political ecology of air in Asia look like?
  • How do the histories of air pollution, indigenous responses to climate change, and the development of atmospheric science intersect with societal dynamics in the Asian Anthropocene?
  • What insights can these intersections offer to understand the region’s unique challenges and strategies for addressing climate-society relationships?
Land
  • What is the role of land rent in causing weak land management?
  • How has neglect of inland areas contributed to the creation of increasingly dense and congested urban areas?
  • What can we learn from hopeful transitions such as collectivization efforts to counter ‘accumulation by dispossession’ in contemporary Asia?
  • How did the colonial and postcolonial dispossession of land influence the ecological conditions of land in Asia?
Disasters
  • How have historical and contemporary disasters in Asia shaped societal resilience, and what lessons can be drawn from these experiences to build adaptive strategies in the context of the Asian Anthropocene?
  • How can historians of Asia contribute in the UN Disaster Risk Reduction Frameworks and Assessments?
  • How did colonial and postcolonial histories structurally shape disasters in Asia?
Food
  • Does subaltern innovative recipes from Asia transmitted across generations contribute to Anthropocene cuisine – that is just, emission-friendly, and less toiling on the planet?
  • What role does the adoption of environmental sustainability narratives by large multinational companies play in creating new consumption practices? Are these really sustainable or is it simply a greenwashing to continue supporting economic growth policies?
  • What is the role of international trade and mass consumption in the global ecological crisis?
Waste
  • How could Asian environmental history redefine western perceptions of waste and waste management-governance scenarios? How to decolonize waste and consider it as an enabler across place-based attributes, generating social livelihoods and contributing to restorative ecology?
  • How do trans-Asian waste circulations reinforce the economic and ecological divide between the Global North and Global South in Asia?
Humans
  • How did scientists, policymakers, activists, and the public play (or fail to play) a role in making the altered earth matters of concern in Asia? What were their relations with political and economic decision-makers? What were their relations with supranational institutions?
  • What are the relationships between supranational institutions and large global interest groups?
  • What are the main factors fueling environmental skepticism?
Others
  • What are the key lessons from Asia to deconstruct Anthropos and make way to dis-Anthrpocentric futures?
  • How can we study and conceptualize the “Asian Anthropocene” without succumbing to Western-centrism?
  • What has been (and continues to be) the role of pop culture in the circulation of ecological ideas?
  • Is technological innovation (artificial intelligence, online communication, robotics…) really a carrier of good environmental sustainability practices?

We accept submissions within the following categories:

  • Essay:
    We welcome submissions of original essays, narrative journalism, experimental nonfiction, lyric essays, and personal essays.
    An essay should be around 2,000 words.
  • Artwork:
    We consider any form of visual or auditory art that can be captured and shared on our digital platform. Formats include photography, sculpture, paintings, collages, sketches, film, music, cartoons, poetry, etc.
    Please include an artist’s statement of around 300 words describing the work.
  • Vital Visualization:
    We welcome quantitative researchers to present their data using visualization for a wide audience to understand environmental challenges and historical trends.
    Please include a caption to briefly explain the figure, and a detailed description of the figure in around 500 words (including the resource, method, etc.).
  • Original narratives and records:
    We invite submissions of interviews and dialogues with local people.
    Interviews and dialogues have no word limitation and can be presented in their original language. An English description of the content is needed, and it should be around 300 words.

Please note,

The submission is open throughout the year, but please note that it may take at least one month to be reviewed by the Editorial Committee and published online.

AAEH does not charge a fee at any stage of the process (submission, review, processing, or acceptance). Previously published pieces may be submitted but the contributor(s) must take responsibility for the copyright.

Please submit your work via this form (link).

Any inquiries shall be sent to the AAEH secretariat team (iceds.aaeh@gmail.com).
You are welcome to be a member of AAEH (link).