Short Abstract

We will interweave short empirical papers, theoretical explorations, performative presentations, and open discussion.

Long Abstract

This panel will explore the value and application of ambivalence (i.e. the assignment more than one quality to something) as "moods and modes of critique" that can story political ecology otherwise (1). Ambivalence suggests an orientation in research praxis that suspends the often-deterministic forms of knowing-feeling prevalent in political ecology. Ambivalence holds open space to think and do political ecology otherwise by attending to multiple knowledges and feelings around a matter of concern, without resolution along a binary axis of affirmation or negative critique. Ambivalence, then, might ‘thicken’ the stories we tell.

Whilst an ambivalent approach might prove a humbling rejoinder to political ecology, it demands caution. We acknowledge risks of slipping into dispassionate indifference, political paralysis, and cynical misappropriation; and so we ask, what is to be gained or lost when an ambivalent approach is taken towards political ecological research?

The panel invites papers and perspectives that sit productively (or not) with hesitation, undecidability, or contradiction as a personal or methodological conduit for knowing. We also hope to explore the potential of creative, more-than-representational, and arts-based methods for storying ambivalent political ecologies that examine multiplicity, tension, and irreconcilability in more-than-human worldings.

Other possible contributions might include:

- Reflections on failure, discomfort, irresolution, or ambiguity in political ecological research and practice

- Advancing an ambivalent political ecology theoretically

- Ambivalent readings of an ambivalent political ecology which examine its utility and take-up as a novel mode of thought and practice in political ecology

- Creative, poetic, or otherwise arts-based performances for storying an ambivalent political ecology

We welcome submissions in diverse form, from papers to performances (~10mins).

1. Ruez, D., & Cockayne, D. (2021). Feeling otherwise: Ambivalent affects and the politics of critique in geography. Dialogues in Human Geography, 11(1), 88-107.

This Different has 3 pending paper proposals.
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