David W Janzen | University of Lethbridge (original) (raw)
Papers by David W Janzen
Canada and Beyond: A Journal of Canadian Literary and Cultural Studies
Canadian Review of American Studies, Jan 11, 2023
Everywhere, we are told, we are in crisis. And yet, the concept "crisis" obscures as much as it c... more Everywhere, we are told, we are in crisis. And yet, the concept "crisis" obscures as much as it clarifies. Crisis Culture: The Theory & Politics of Historical Rupture examines how modern conceptions of crisis structure the ways we experience, narrate, and respond to moments of historical rupture and upheaval. It analyzes how logics of crisis and event limit and facilitate the
Soil Biology and Biochemistry, 2021
Abstract ‘Soil health’ has become a dominant, pervasive phrase in soil and environmental sciences... more Abstract ‘Soil health’ has become a dominant, pervasive phrase in soil and environmental sciences. But despite its ubiquity, the concept remains elusively ambiguous, largely because ‘health’ here is a metaphor, not a literal scientific construct. So we ask: can this imagery nevertheless still advance research toward stewardship of soils globally? To address this question, we here define soil health as: ‘the vitality of a soil in sustaining the socio-ecological functions of its enfolding land.’ By this definition, soil health reflects not the composition of soil per se, rather its capacity to promote the pertinent functions of the land in which it is embedded. This means that the term has little meaning for a soil divorced from its ecosystem, and that properties conferring such health depend on place and time. From this view, we consider the metaphor’s strengths and pitfalls for stewarding soils, and proffer some ways to elevate its use, mostly to spur conversation. We propose that the point of pursuing the soil health metaphor is not merely to assign a number to the ‘goodness’ of soil, but to generate understanding of relational mechanisms and thereby lead us to better nurture attributes that catalyze valued functions, now and perpetually. In the end, the continuing usefulness of the soil health metaphor depends, not on whether or not we can finally entrap it numerically, but whether it propels us to greater reverence for soil, deeper insight into its beneficial processes, and wiser ways of managing it. In time, when the health metaphor can no longer carry this prodigious weight, we may seek a worthy successor; a good metaphor produces good science, and good science produces ever better metaphors.
Soil Biology and Biochemistry, 2021
‘Soil health’ has become a dominant, pervasive phrase in soil and environmental sciences. But des... more ‘Soil health’ has become a dominant, pervasive phrase in soil and environmental sciences. But despite its ubiquity, the concept remains elusively ambiguous, largely because ‘health’ here is a metaphor, not a literal scientific construct. So we ask: can this imagery nevertheless still advance research toward stewardship of soils globally? To address this question, we here define soil health as: ‘the vitality of a soil in sustaining the socioecological functions of its enfolding land.’ By this definition, soil health reflects not the composition of soil per se, rather its capacity to promote the pertinent functions of the land in which it is embedded. This means that
the term has little meaning for a soil divorced from its ecosystem, and that properties conferring such health depend on place and time. From this view, we consider the metaphor’s strengths and pitfalls for stewarding soils,
and proffer some ways to elevate its use, mostly to spur conversation. We propose that the point of pursuing the soil health metaphor is not merely to assign a number to the ‘goodness’ of soil, but to generate understanding of
relational mechanisms and thereby lead us to better nurture attributes that catalyze valued functions, now and perpetually. In the end, the continuing usefulness of the soil health metaphor depends, not on whether or not we can finally entrap it numerically, but whether it propels us to greater reverence for soil, deeper insight into its beneficial processes, and wiser ways of managing it. In time, when the health metaphor can no longer carry this prodigious weight, we may seek a worthy successor; a good metaphor produces good science, and good science produces ever better metaphors.
Historical Materialism, 2022
Crisis is endemic to capitalism. But can it be proved that capitalism will bring about its own te... more Crisis is endemic to capitalism. But can it be proved that capitalism will bring about its own terminal crisis? This article frames this question in light of ongoing debates in theories of crisis and value by polemically comparing two related but divergent perspectives. The first, that of Robert Kurz and several Wertkritik authors, argues that cyclical crises of capital necessarily lead to a terminal crisis – and that this terminal crisis is already underway. The second, that of Michael Heinrich, argues that there is no way to demonstrate that capital will not continue reinventing new sites and forms for creating surplus value. Through this comparison, this article achieves two aims: first, it establishes the general point that how we understand value determines how we understand crisis; and, second, it shows limitations of the ‘terminal crisis’ hypothesis, and concludes that Kurz’s terminal crisis theory risks making crisis a transhistorical concept.
English Studies in Canada, 2018
Public: Art/Culture/Ideas
At the Banff Research in Culture residency (2015) I began developing a series of research-creatio... more At the Banff Research in Culture residency (2015) I began developing a series of research-creation experiments that translate data from the Alberta oil sands into sound. The project started by recognizing that predominant ways of representing climate change limit how we understand and respond to its social and environmental dimensions. In particular, the logic of crisis structured around an imperative—act now or risk catastrophe—reproduces philosophical idealism and social inequality. In spite of its apparent urgency, discourse on environmental crisis privileges " business as usual " while policing and silencing potentially trans-formative action (as we see with Indigenous, activist, and progressive scientific perspectives). I will argue here for the need for new forms of representing environmental destruction, and introduce the hypothesis that rhythm—broadly conceived as any pattern of stronger and weaker intensities (a heartbeat, annual seasons, the boom-bust cycles of oil markets)—potentially grounds such a framework.
The five largest producers in the Alberta oil sands are failing to take meaningful action in line... more The five largest producers in the Alberta oil sands are failing to take meaningful action in line with the targets Canada has agreed to under the Paris Agreement on climate change, creating billions of dollars in economic and environmental risk in a world increasingly recognizing the need to transition away from fossil fuels.
ESC: English Studies in Canada, 2018
Since 2004, the Marlin Mine, located in North-west Guatemala, has produced conflict between Goldc... more Since 2004, the Marlin Mine, located in North-west Guatemala, has produced conflict between Goldcorp, the Guatemalan state and the primarily indigenous Mayan communities affected by the mine. This conflict has generated local anti-mining movements that organized community consultations which, grounded in indigenous rights law and Mayan decision-making practices, allow affected communities to decide whether or not to permit mining in the region. While communities resoundingly rejected open-pit mining, and while this decision received international support, the Marlin Mine continues operations. Drawing on field research and new developments in philosophies of rights, this paper makes two related arguments. First, Mayan anti-mining resistance must be situated within a broader colonial history defined by exploitation and primitive accumulation. Second, Mayan activism challenges current conceptions of the relationship between rights, cultural identity and political agency; most significantly, Mayans do not only claim rights on the basis of identity, they enact and politicize the form in which these rights potentially take place.
A new genre of speculative writing created by the Editors of Evental Aesthetics, the Collision is... more A new genre of speculative writing created by the Editors of Evental Aesthetics, the Collision is a concise but pointed essay that introduces philosophical questions raised by a specific aesthetic experience. A Collision is not an entire, expository journey; not a full-fledged argument but the potential of an argument. A Collision is an encounter that is also a point of departure: the impact of a striking confrontation between experience, thought, and writing may propel later inquiries into being. Janzen, David W. "Poverty/Line: Aesthetic and Political Subjects in Santiago Sierra's 'Line' Photographs." Evental Aesthetics 2, no. 4 (2014): 56-65.
Creative Non-fiction by David W Janzen
I wake to the sounds of a sign-maker: the slips and scrape of metal on metal, the wobble of thin-... more I wake to the sounds of a sign-maker: the slips and scrape of metal on metal, the wobble of thin-sheeted tin, then an inconclusive clatter as the tin drops flat. I live in a ten-storey concrete block. It stands like a grey brick on edge, indistinguishable from the other grey bricks that block right angles in the surrounding scattered labyrinth, a blueprint for communist architecture in China. The sign-maker's shop is just below my second-storey flat. And when his noise wakes me, I boil water for coffee, then walk to the window to watch him work. This has become routine. "Coffee, window, cigarette, book," Michael will say when he rolls from his bed and wanders into the kitchen.
Conference Presentations by David W Janzen
My aim in this paper is to establish two basic points. First: I argue we lack the representative ... more My aim in this paper is to establish two basic points. First: I argue we lack the representative forms adequate to the series of political and ecological challenges generalized by the term " climate change " ; emerging social and political movements challenge the violence perpetrated by capital's exploitation of the planet's resources, yet a collective response requires a re-imagining of this systemic exploitation through new representative forms. Second, more speculatively, I suggest that rhythm, understood in a broad, material sense, provides a starting point for this project.
Canada and Beyond: A Journal of Canadian Literary and Cultural Studies
Canadian Review of American Studies, Jan 11, 2023
Everywhere, we are told, we are in crisis. And yet, the concept "crisis" obscures as much as it c... more Everywhere, we are told, we are in crisis. And yet, the concept "crisis" obscures as much as it clarifies. Crisis Culture: The Theory & Politics of Historical Rupture examines how modern conceptions of crisis structure the ways we experience, narrate, and respond to moments of historical rupture and upheaval. It analyzes how logics of crisis and event limit and facilitate the
Soil Biology and Biochemistry, 2021
Abstract ‘Soil health’ has become a dominant, pervasive phrase in soil and environmental sciences... more Abstract ‘Soil health’ has become a dominant, pervasive phrase in soil and environmental sciences. But despite its ubiquity, the concept remains elusively ambiguous, largely because ‘health’ here is a metaphor, not a literal scientific construct. So we ask: can this imagery nevertheless still advance research toward stewardship of soils globally? To address this question, we here define soil health as: ‘the vitality of a soil in sustaining the socio-ecological functions of its enfolding land.’ By this definition, soil health reflects not the composition of soil per se, rather its capacity to promote the pertinent functions of the land in which it is embedded. This means that the term has little meaning for a soil divorced from its ecosystem, and that properties conferring such health depend on place and time. From this view, we consider the metaphor’s strengths and pitfalls for stewarding soils, and proffer some ways to elevate its use, mostly to spur conversation. We propose that the point of pursuing the soil health metaphor is not merely to assign a number to the ‘goodness’ of soil, but to generate understanding of relational mechanisms and thereby lead us to better nurture attributes that catalyze valued functions, now and perpetually. In the end, the continuing usefulness of the soil health metaphor depends, not on whether or not we can finally entrap it numerically, but whether it propels us to greater reverence for soil, deeper insight into its beneficial processes, and wiser ways of managing it. In time, when the health metaphor can no longer carry this prodigious weight, we may seek a worthy successor; a good metaphor produces good science, and good science produces ever better metaphors.
Soil Biology and Biochemistry, 2021
‘Soil health’ has become a dominant, pervasive phrase in soil and environmental sciences. But des... more ‘Soil health’ has become a dominant, pervasive phrase in soil and environmental sciences. But despite its ubiquity, the concept remains elusively ambiguous, largely because ‘health’ here is a metaphor, not a literal scientific construct. So we ask: can this imagery nevertheless still advance research toward stewardship of soils globally? To address this question, we here define soil health as: ‘the vitality of a soil in sustaining the socioecological functions of its enfolding land.’ By this definition, soil health reflects not the composition of soil per se, rather its capacity to promote the pertinent functions of the land in which it is embedded. This means that
the term has little meaning for a soil divorced from its ecosystem, and that properties conferring such health depend on place and time. From this view, we consider the metaphor’s strengths and pitfalls for stewarding soils,
and proffer some ways to elevate its use, mostly to spur conversation. We propose that the point of pursuing the soil health metaphor is not merely to assign a number to the ‘goodness’ of soil, but to generate understanding of
relational mechanisms and thereby lead us to better nurture attributes that catalyze valued functions, now and perpetually. In the end, the continuing usefulness of the soil health metaphor depends, not on whether or not we can finally entrap it numerically, but whether it propels us to greater reverence for soil, deeper insight into its beneficial processes, and wiser ways of managing it. In time, when the health metaphor can no longer carry this prodigious weight, we may seek a worthy successor; a good metaphor produces good science, and good science produces ever better metaphors.
Historical Materialism, 2022
Crisis is endemic to capitalism. But can it be proved that capitalism will bring about its own te... more Crisis is endemic to capitalism. But can it be proved that capitalism will bring about its own terminal crisis? This article frames this question in light of ongoing debates in theories of crisis and value by polemically comparing two related but divergent perspectives. The first, that of Robert Kurz and several Wertkritik authors, argues that cyclical crises of capital necessarily lead to a terminal crisis – and that this terminal crisis is already underway. The second, that of Michael Heinrich, argues that there is no way to demonstrate that capital will not continue reinventing new sites and forms for creating surplus value. Through this comparison, this article achieves two aims: first, it establishes the general point that how we understand value determines how we understand crisis; and, second, it shows limitations of the ‘terminal crisis’ hypothesis, and concludes that Kurz’s terminal crisis theory risks making crisis a transhistorical concept.
English Studies in Canada, 2018
Public: Art/Culture/Ideas
At the Banff Research in Culture residency (2015) I began developing a series of research-creatio... more At the Banff Research in Culture residency (2015) I began developing a series of research-creation experiments that translate data from the Alberta oil sands into sound. The project started by recognizing that predominant ways of representing climate change limit how we understand and respond to its social and environmental dimensions. In particular, the logic of crisis structured around an imperative—act now or risk catastrophe—reproduces philosophical idealism and social inequality. In spite of its apparent urgency, discourse on environmental crisis privileges " business as usual " while policing and silencing potentially trans-formative action (as we see with Indigenous, activist, and progressive scientific perspectives). I will argue here for the need for new forms of representing environmental destruction, and introduce the hypothesis that rhythm—broadly conceived as any pattern of stronger and weaker intensities (a heartbeat, annual seasons, the boom-bust cycles of oil markets)—potentially grounds such a framework.
The five largest producers in the Alberta oil sands are failing to take meaningful action in line... more The five largest producers in the Alberta oil sands are failing to take meaningful action in line with the targets Canada has agreed to under the Paris Agreement on climate change, creating billions of dollars in economic and environmental risk in a world increasingly recognizing the need to transition away from fossil fuels.
ESC: English Studies in Canada, 2018
Since 2004, the Marlin Mine, located in North-west Guatemala, has produced conflict between Goldc... more Since 2004, the Marlin Mine, located in North-west Guatemala, has produced conflict between Goldcorp, the Guatemalan state and the primarily indigenous Mayan communities affected by the mine. This conflict has generated local anti-mining movements that organized community consultations which, grounded in indigenous rights law and Mayan decision-making practices, allow affected communities to decide whether or not to permit mining in the region. While communities resoundingly rejected open-pit mining, and while this decision received international support, the Marlin Mine continues operations. Drawing on field research and new developments in philosophies of rights, this paper makes two related arguments. First, Mayan anti-mining resistance must be situated within a broader colonial history defined by exploitation and primitive accumulation. Second, Mayan activism challenges current conceptions of the relationship between rights, cultural identity and political agency; most significantly, Mayans do not only claim rights on the basis of identity, they enact and politicize the form in which these rights potentially take place.
A new genre of speculative writing created by the Editors of Evental Aesthetics, the Collision is... more A new genre of speculative writing created by the Editors of Evental Aesthetics, the Collision is a concise but pointed essay that introduces philosophical questions raised by a specific aesthetic experience. A Collision is not an entire, expository journey; not a full-fledged argument but the potential of an argument. A Collision is an encounter that is also a point of departure: the impact of a striking confrontation between experience, thought, and writing may propel later inquiries into being. Janzen, David W. "Poverty/Line: Aesthetic and Political Subjects in Santiago Sierra's 'Line' Photographs." Evental Aesthetics 2, no. 4 (2014): 56-65.
I wake to the sounds of a sign-maker: the slips and scrape of metal on metal, the wobble of thin-... more I wake to the sounds of a sign-maker: the slips and scrape of metal on metal, the wobble of thin-sheeted tin, then an inconclusive clatter as the tin drops flat. I live in a ten-storey concrete block. It stands like a grey brick on edge, indistinguishable from the other grey bricks that block right angles in the surrounding scattered labyrinth, a blueprint for communist architecture in China. The sign-maker's shop is just below my second-storey flat. And when his noise wakes me, I boil water for coffee, then walk to the window to watch him work. This has become routine. "Coffee, window, cigarette, book," Michael will say when he rolls from his bed and wanders into the kitchen.
My aim in this paper is to establish two basic points. First: I argue we lack the representative ... more My aim in this paper is to establish two basic points. First: I argue we lack the representative forms adequate to the series of political and ecological challenges generalized by the term " climate change " ; emerging social and political movements challenge the violence perpetrated by capital's exploitation of the planet's resources, yet a collective response requires a re-imagining of this systemic exploitation through new representative forms. Second, more speculatively, I suggest that rhythm, understood in a broad, material sense, provides a starting point for this project.