In his work, Timothy Mitchell has analyzed and put forward intriguing suggestions with regards to the connections between the very materialities, infrastructures and extractions of oil and the social formation of democracy. How to study and work on the relations between the material and natural objects upon which our societies rely and our social and political institutions and formations of power? Do reliances and shifts to new forms of energy trigger other social formations? What is the role of economics and other forms of expertise?
In this workshop, Timothy Mitchell will present and discuss his work starting from his two influential monographs Carbon Democracy: Political Power in the Age of Oil (Verso Press, 2012) and Rule of Experts: Egypt, Techno-Politics, Modernity (University of California Press, 2002) and his forthcoming book on capitalism as the capture of the future.
How to participate
The workshop is now full!
Biography
Timothy Mitchell writes about colonialism, political economy, the politics of energy, and the making of expert knowledge. Trained in the fields of law, history, and political theory, he works across the disciplinary boundaries of history and the social sciences. Many of his writings explore materials from the history and contemporary politics of Egypt, where he has conducted research over many years.
He is currently working on a study of durability, examining how the more durable apparatuses for capturing wealth characteristic of late nineteenth-century colonialism (railways, canals, apartment buildings, dams) engineered a new method of extracting income from the future—a future we now inhabit precariously today. Like much of his work, this research combines the study of the built world, technical devices, ecological processes, and the history of economic and political concepts.
Mitchell is the William B. Ransford Professor of Middle Eastern Studies at Columbia University. His is based in the Department of Middle Eastern, South Asian, and African Studies, for which he served as chair from 2011 until 2017. He also teaches occasionally in Columbia’s School of International and Public Affairs.
The Eilert Sundt Lecture 2024
Eilert Sundt (1817-1875) is considered to be the first social scientist in Norway. The first Eilert Sundt Lecture was arranged in 1993, the same year as the faculty's 20th anniversary. At the invitation of TIK, this year's lecture will be held by Timothy Mitchell on 22 October.
For more information and program, please consult the event page: The Eilert Sundt Lecture 2024: Oil, climate crisis, and the alibi of growth - Faculty of Social Sciences (uio.no)