Materialism and Politics

Lisa Vanhala (Political Science, UCL), Simon Clemens (FU Berlin), Frances Butler (Geography, UCL), Andrew Barry (Geography, UCL)

Materialist analyses of politics were once criticised for being too preoccupied with economic interests and class differences, and paying too little attention to political discourse, to the contingency of political events, and to the emergence of new political identities. What are often called new materialist analyses supplement these earlier criticisms, focusing less on political discourse, than on the diverse materials, from carbon dioxide  to water that are prominent political actors. In this seminar, we consider the strengths and limitations of new materialist accounts, and the relevance of diverse forms of new materialism for the study of democracy, international state responsibility, corporate power, and political institutions.

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