Compos(t)ing the City: Workshop Series
Join us for an exciting and thought-provoking journey of discovery, confusion, and liberation
Welcome to the Composting the City Study Sessions! Our workshop offers a unique blend of academia and imagination that seeks to weave together threads of creativity, care, and equity for urban futures. We believe that our un/disciplined study sessions offer an opportunity to explore these themes, combining thought-provoking discussions with embodied, immersive learning.
About the Sessions
In the opening workshop on 18th April, we will delve deep into the intersection of imagination and ecology, exploring how our imaginations can shape the way we interact with the environment around us.
On 20th April we will focus on Resmaa Menakem's book "My Grandmother's Hands: Racialized Trauma and the Pathway to Mending our Hearts and Bodies." This book offers a powerful exploration of the impact of racialised trauma on our bodies and communities. Join us as we delve into this important topic.
On 22nd April, we are excited to host an Embodied Movement Workshop with Denise Rowe, which offers a unique opportunity to explore the themes of our workshop in a physical and experiential way. Through this workshop, participants can connect with their bodies and the environment around us.
Don't miss out on this chance to reimagine our relationship with the environment and the diverse communities that call it home.Important Dates
Dates |
Activity |
Location |
| 18th April 7:15pm - 8:45pm |
Towards an Ecology of the ImaginationJoin us for an immersive online welcome session, where we will introduce the series and give you a chance to meet our incredible workshop facilitators. But that's not all – we also have a very special guest joining us for a lecture you won't want to miss!WelcomeAlastair McIntosh will deliver an opening workshop and explore the themes in his books, especially Poacher's Pilgrimage: a Journey into Land and Soul, in a reflection that will start in Scotland's rural landscapes, and then bring those through to the urban with Glasgow's GalGael Trust, and its motif, "connecting coastal communities". In so doing, he will draw upon Kenneth White's "geopoetics" as an epistemological tool in addressing the question: "What is the meaning that gives meaning to meaning?" Alastair is the author of books including Soil and Soul (2001) and most recently, Riders on the Storm: Climate Change and the Survival of Being (2020). He is an honorary professor in the School of Education, College of Social Sciences, at the University of Glasgow. |
Zoom |
| 20 April 7pm - 8pm |
Reading Group: "My Grandmother's Hands: Racialized Trauma and the Pathway to Mending Our Hearts and Bodies"
"We will not end white-body supremacy - or any form of human evil - by trying to tear it to pieces. Instead, we can offer people ways to belong, and better things to belong to." - Resmaa Menakem
|
Hybrid |
| 22nd April 10am - 5pm |
Perfomrnace & Embodiment Workshop: Embodied Movement for Decolonial Imaginaries and Equitable CitiesDenise Rowe (she/her)Director, Earth Dances Denise is a creative practitioner, ceremonialist and experiential facilitator with over twenty years experience in creating and holding safe spaces for powerful transformation. Denise’s passion is for the deep embodied remembering that is encoded within our beings as part of this living earth. She works with music, dance, prayer and landscape as access points for this remembering. Denise’s work has evolved from many intensive immersions into indigenous wisdom, including the hunter gatherers of the Cameroonian rainforest, the mbira tradition in rural Zimbabwe, and her own embodied movement practice in the landscapes of Devon, UK. |
Warwick University Campus |
Dates to be announced for the next two workshops |
If you don't live near the University of Warwick or are unable to attend the in-person workshops, we would still love for you to join us! We are excited to offer hybrid study groups for the reading of Resmaa Menakem's book "My Grandmother's Hands" and Petra Kuppers' "Eco Soma: Pain and Joy for Speculative Encounters". This provides an opportunity for remote participants to engage with the group.
Please feel free to reach out for more information on how to join our virtual study groups. We welcome all participants to be a part of this transformative learning experience, regardless of location.
About the organisers
In developing these sessions, we placed importance on interdisciplinary dialogue in addressing socio-ecological issues and sought collaboration with networks and existing communities across the Warwick campus.
These sessions are led by the Sustainable Cities GRP, a research group networked to explore urban sustainability challenges and solutions. The group comprises experts from various fields, including environmental science, engineering, social sciences, and humanities. One area the Sustainable Cities GRP is interested in is more than human understandings of resilience that enable an equitable, transdisciplinary, and participatory approach in community relationships.
In addition to the Sustainable Cities GRP, the Environmental Humanities Network is co-sponsoring the sessions. The network has a cross-disciplinary research focus that engages with a wide range of socio-ecological issues, problems, and debates. Their activities range from public lectures and seminars to research projects and publications. For more information on their activities, click here.
We are also grateful for the support of the ECR & PGR-led Global South Initiative, a student-led initiative that connects researchers from the Global South and advocates for greater representation, solidarity, and visibility in academia. The initiative is committed to promoting interdisciplinary dialogue on issues related to the Global South, including coloniality, social justice and urban sustainability. Their contributions to this event will be invaluable in fostering a diverse and inclusive dialogue.