The Environmental Social Science Research Group, under the auspices of the first Hungarian Science Shop, has started a Science Cafe in Budapest, Hungary.

First event: Kate Soper
Towards postconsumerism: nature, culture and the politics of consumption

 

In response to ecological crises, there is much anxiety today about the destruction and 'loss' of nature. But there are doubts about what we mean by 'nature' and what still counts as 'natural' in a world so technically controlled and transformed by human beings.  The cafe will reflect on these concerns, the ways they compare and contrast with earlier ideas about humanity-nature relations, and their implications for a 'greener' politics. Kate Soper argues that the problem is not so much about 'getting back to nature' but about how to develop ways of living that are ecologically benign and respectful of our distinctively human needs, pleasures and capacities.  The focus will be on the importance of new thinking about human flourishing and the 'good life' and the development of a more sustainable form of consumption.

Kate Soper is Professor of Philosophy in the Institute for the Study of European Transformations at London Metropolitan University. She has written extensively on the conceptualisation of nature and environmental issues.  Her recent writings include: What is Nature? Culture,
Politics and the Non-Human, London, Blackwell, 1995; To Relish the Sublime? Culture and Self-Realisation in Postmodern Times, London, Verso, 2002 (with Martin Ryle). She is currently in receipt of an AHRC/ESRC award in the 'Cultures of Consumption' Programme, and researching a book on 'alternative hedonism'.  

Hosted by the British Council, the Environmental Social Science Research Group and the Hungarian Science Shop.

Download program here (pdf).