Fire presents itself, expresses itself, shines, consumes, and consumes itself. It disappears. It falls silent. Then it returns, ... always returns. More or less desperately fire happened (and happens). Fire has been part of productive cycles and moments related to agriculture and pastoralism, processing and cooking, hunting, rituals, protest, and conflict. Its meaning spans from its coziness and useful nature to its immense, grotesque, and life-threatening force that defies understanding. This session focuses on the reading of two texts that offer different perspectives on fire: one text follows the rhythm of a literary essay that explores the existence of fire, in its wild and tame forms, in the lives of people, animals, and places in Guinea-Bissau. The other text is an analysis of fire in the Western United States during the 20th century, viewed through the lens of historical materialism. Fire is analyzed as part of nature\'s revenge and as significant in processes of expropriation and the precarization of labor.

Readings

Montenegro, Teresa. 2021. Fogo manso, fogo bravo. Sintidus, 4, pp. 7-20.

Dockstader, Sue. 2024. An accumulation of catastrophe: A political economy of wildfire in the Western United States. PhD Dissertation. University of Oregon

Registration is free, but mandatory

Coordenation: Joana Vaz Sousa & Jonas Van Vossole