Grassroots

CALL FOR PAPERS: "Just and Plural Political Ecologies: Traditions and Futures."

Over the last 30 years, the field of Political Ecology has grown rapidly as a result of emerging socio-ecological challenges, actions by social movements, conceptual and methodological innovation, and the diversification of voices, especially from the Global South. Three journals in political ecology – The Journal of Political Ecology/Grassroots, Ecología Política, and the Journal of the Geographical Association of Tanzania (JGAT) – invite contributions to an open conversation about "Just and Plural Political Ecologies: Traditions and Futures." We envision this as an ongoing discussion leading up to, including, and following the June 10-12, 2024 meeting of the Political Ecology Network (POLLEN). Please submit 1000-word reflections and essays to any one of the editors of the three participating journals by May 1, 2024. These statements will be published on the webpage of JPE-Grassroots with the intention that they will stimulate discussions among conference participants at POLLEN 2024.

CALL FOR PAPERS

Over the last 30 years, the field of Political Ecology has grown rapidly as a result of emerging socio-ecological challenges, actions by social movements, conceptual and methodological innovation, and the diversification of voices, especially from the Global South. The field is constantly changing: it has been “reimagined” and debated, numerous sub-topics and approaches have flourished, and research crosses boundaries such as those between nation-states, academic disciplines, or the humanities, natural sciences and social sciences. Publishing venues have grown alongside political ecology, with the consolidation of new journals, new modes and media, and scholar-led efforts to reshape the political economy and culture of knowledge production. With the work of political ecology thriving around the globe, and networks of scholars expanding in the Global South as well as peripheries within the Global North, we see this as an appropriate moment to reflect on the traditions of thought and practice that have shaped the field and the direction that new research and social action in political ecology is taking. We seek to engage in a dialogue with fellow political ecologists, on the paths and challenges toward more just and plural political ecologies.

Three journals in political ecology – The Journal of Political Ecology/Grassroots, Ecología Política, and the Journal of the Geographical Association of Tanzania (JGAT) – invite contributions from activists and scholars to an open conversation about "Just and Plural Political Ecologies: Traditions and Futures." We envision this as an ongoing discussion leading up to, including, and following from the 2024 meeting of the Political Ecology Network (POLLEN), which will be held concurrently in Lund (Sweden), Lima (Peru), and Dodoma (Tanzania), June 10-12.

In the months leading up to the POLLEN meeting, the three journals will accept short essays of up to 1000 words that discuss ‘traditions and futures’ in the field. The topics of these reflections are open, but they might focus on, for example: histories and futures of particular subfields of political ecology; emergent socio-ecological problems and shifting research priorities; alternative geneaologies of political ecology; dominant and subaltern approaches in the field; practices of in/justice in the production of knowledge in political ecology; engagements between scholars and activists; intersectional thinking in political ecology; emergent ideas and practices of justice; the relevance of ethical research practices and data sovereignty; institutional dynamics and political economy of research, teaching, and publishing.

After a brief editorial review, these statements will be published on the webpage of JPE-Grassroots, and announced on the POLLEN webpage, newsletter and email list, with the intention that they will stimulate discussions among conference participants at POLLEN 2024.

At the POLLEN meeting, journal editors will form a plenary panel on the last day where they will discuss issues identified across the three locations at the meeting:

1) dominant and emergent tendencies in the field, and the promise of just and plural futures emerging from the knowledge practices of political ecology.
2) the role of publishing to nurture plural and just socio-ecological futures, and the challenges to advancing a pluralization of knowledge and practice within political ecology.
3) the kinds of submissions the journals would like to receive that would promote ecosocial justice and advance the pluralization of practices and knowledges.

After the POLLEN meetings, editors of the three journals will continue to work collaboratively to publish short statements, full articles, and other products across multiple forms of media that engage the question of "Just and Plural Political Ecologies: Traditions and Futures." We envision producing a just, inclusive and collective publication across academia y activism that will have a major impact on the theory and practice of the field.

Guidelines

Please submit preliminary reflections and essays to any one of the editors of the three participating journals by May 1, 2024:

■ Lucrecia Wagner – Ecologia Politica ( lucrewagner@gmail.com )
■ Christine Noe – Journal of the Geog Assoc Tanzania (JGAT) ( cnpallangyo@gmail.com )
■ Casey Walsh – UCSB, Journal of Political Ecology ( cwalsh@ucsb.edu )

Once reviewed and accepted by the editors, the contributions will be posted on the website of Grassroots / Journal of Political Ecology