Last Tuesday, 19 May, SHOC celebrated its third anniversary with an inspiring lecture by Prof. Andreas Malm (Lund University). Titled “The Political Ecology of Charlemagne – Or, What, if Anything, is Special about Capitalism?”, it offered a first glimpse of a foundational chapter from Andreas’ forthcoming monograph on popular histories of the wilderness.
Using Charlemagne and the expansion of the Carolingian Empire as a metaphorical focal point, Andreas took us on a historical-philosophical journey exploring how human intervention in the landscape—especially deforestation—helped consolidate power and facilitate the domination of oppressed populations. Nicolas Schroeder from our francophone sister institution ULB acted as a formidable sparring partner for Andreas.
We can confidently say that the audience thoroughly enjoyed both the thought-provoking lecture and the engaging discussion that followed.