Diacronie. Studi di Storia Contemporanea (Dec 2020)
Can the Subaltern speak attraverso l’ambiente? Tra Storia dell’ambiente e Subaltern Studies
Abstract
Over the last two decades, environmental history (EH) has been affected by the emergence of the Environmental Humanities and the political ecology approach. Seemingly, the field of Subaltern/Critical Studies (S/CS) has progressively succeeded in including epistemologies and experiences from the Global South in scholarly debates. This parallel development allows these two fields of inquiry to broaden their respective research interests and pose innovative and topical theoretical and methodological issues. Analysing the overlaps and potential confluences between the EH and S/CS brings us to a novel understanding of the concept of subalternity based on its relationship with the concept of indigeneity, makes room for the non-human and the ecological elements in the category of subalterns, questions the very validity of the term subaltern.
