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May 31, 2012 Michael rated it information technology was amazing

This book is WOW. This volume is yuck.

I already knew fossil fuel companies were slimy and money-hungry, fugitive environmental regulations whenever possible. I knew that the U.S. makes a habit of exporting our dirtiest businesses, and our trash (literally), to poor countries without the political sway to complain about information technology. I knew that the inhabitants of many small, low-lying islands, who take been faced with the dire consequences of global warming already, accept been amidst the most vocal to speak

This book is WOW. This volume is yuck.

I already knew fossil fuel companies were slimy and money-hungry, avoiding environmental regulations whenever possible. I knew that the U.S. makes a habit of exporting our dirtiest businesses, and our trash (literally), to poor countries without the political sway to complain nigh information technology. I knew that the inhabitants of many modest, depression-lying islands, who take been faced with the dire consequences of global warming already, have been among the most vocal to speak out about the demand for policy modify.

Hither's what I did not realize.

I did not realize that, even at present, oil companies like Beat out literally fund and militarize tyrannical governments that won't hold them accountable for damage to the environs or the people of their country. I did non realize it was so common for them to do this, and so say they had no political sway when the authorities started literally killing those who outset speaking out against the behavior of oil companies.

I did not realize oil companies have been excited about the new possibilities opened up by global warming, equally the arctic continues to melt and make information technology more practical to get-go drilling up there. I did not realize the U.S. government was excited to aid them expedite this procedure, past immigration away all the pesky cherry record that would go along them from doing so.

I did not realize that it is a cold, hard fact that companies similar Chevron spend more money advertising how much they care virtually alternative fuel sources than they really spend on developing alternative fuels. Although this isn't as well hard to imagine.

I did non realize that, at the same time Barack Obama was gently slapping the hand of B.P. after the Deepwater Horizon disaster, he was making sure at that place was a maximum cap for the toll oil companies would have to pay in the upshot of a oil disasters in Indian waters, no matter how tremendous the disaster is. The maximum cap? 0.five% of what we expected B.P. to pay when a disaster happened in the U.South.

I did not realize that we only hear near the oil spills that nosotros are expected to be interested in. For instance, nosotros haven't heard much at all about the Exxon disaster's-worth of oil that has been spilled in Nigeria EVERY Twelvemonth, for more than the final thirty years.I would accept thought this was newsworthy.

I did non know that, when the Deepwater Horizon disaster happened, B.P. was relying on make clean-up methods that were more 40 years old and had been adult for fresh h2o, because they had never invested in developing clean-up methods since then, or for different ecosystems. I didn't realize that, while B.P. was so clueless about actually cleaning it up, they sent planes out at night to douse the near heavily polluted parts of the water in a chemical that would cause the oil to clump and sink, doing perhaps more environmental damage, but making it much harder to determine how large the disaster was.

I actually, really wish I didn't accept to take this book back to the library tomorrow, then I could write a full review with sources, ala Bird Brian. Instead, Yous only go to encounter me in this country of shock equally I try to brand sense of all this. If you tin find a copy of this, I definitely recommend it.

...more than

Aug 31, 2012 Craig Werner rated information technology really liked information technology

The well-nigh important volume of literary criticism I've read in 5 or six years, maybe longer. And a bit disappointing.

I'll get-go with the positives. Nixon raises an absolutely fundamental question for gimmicky writers: how can we develop forms of expression which confront the problem of "slow violence"--primarily the environmental bear on of our economic and political and personal actions--in a compelling manner. He's vivid in framing the problem. About of our narrative and polemical forms focus

The most important book of literary criticism I've read in v or six years, maybe longer. And a bit disappointing.

I'll start with the positives. Nixon raises an absolutely central question for contemporary writers: how tin nosotros develop forms of expression which confront the problem of "slow violence"--primarily the environmental touch on of our economic and political and personal deportment--in a compelling manner. He'southward brilliant in framing the problem. Most of our narrative and polemical forms focus on spectacular, and unremarkably individual, conflicts. Take iii seconds to call back about whatsoever moving picture's at the tiptop of the box office list or any book'southward at the top of the NYTimes best seller list, and you'll get the betoken. I'one thousand absolutely convinced that Nixon has asked the right question. Information technology will exist a part of how I recollect about literature from hither on out.

Nixon likewise does a good task with the second part of his title, "the environmentalism of the poor." The take-habitation bulletin here is that environmentalism isn't just for affluent western liberals; environmental degradation has an even more than immediate bear on on the lives of the poor, specially in the global Due south, which has been and is being used as a dumping ground and provider of resources for developed economices with very picayune attending to either brusque or long-term outcome on the people who live in that location. Focusing on writers and activists from the global S--Ken Saro-Wiwa, Wangari Maathai,Arundhati Roy, Nadine Gordimer--Nixon argues convincingly that any arroyo to environmentalism that fails to enter into active dialog and alliance with their movements is both intellectually and politically doomed.

Finally (on the positive side), Nixon raises the question of what the "writer activist" can do to address the championship bug. Over again, it's the right question, but--and here I'm making the transition to the problems--I wish he'd washed more than to reply it. While Nixon's previous work as a critic--a terrific study of the Capetown Renaissance, South Africa'southward crude equivalent of the Harlem Renaissance and a study of V.S. Naipaul--makes information technology clear that he'south got a deep grounding in the thorny questions apropos political literature, not much of that awareness is present here. Specifically, I wanted him to bring the author-activist bug into conversation with what I'll shorthand as the Brecht-Lukasc contend. The central issue there was whether conventional literary forms (for Lukasc, the Dickensian novel and realistic drama) are capable of communicating politically challenging material in a mode that leads to existent action. Brecht said no, that what we need are forms which jar viewers out of their comfort zones and force them, often uncomfortably and against their wills. The specifics re. Slow Violence differ, simply the question's related: can familiar polemical forms which highlight heroic individual political figures (as is the case with Wangari and Maathai) or op-ed pieces such equally Roy's, do more than join in the deafening chorus of opinion which floods our media worlds today? Nixon (whose all-time book, the marvelous Dreambirds, uses ostriches every bit a point of entry into a huge range of issues) is fascinated with non-fiction prose forms. I tend to think that fictional narratives--novels, movies, TV mini-series--take a more than cardinal part to play in overcoming resistance and denial.

That leads to my last two criticisms or qualifications, both of which take to practise with Nixon'due south text world. Kickoff, I would take liked to accept seen more than attention to Native American and global indigenous literature. The first books I'd use to spark a discussion of how to portray deadening violence finer would exist Leslie Marmon Silko's Ceremony and The Almanac of the Expressionless. Similarly, Nixon pays almost no attending to science fiction, although Indra Sinha's Animate being'southward People shares some aesthetic strategies with, for example, Margaret Atwood's Oryx and Crake and Doris Lessing'southward Canopus series (both of which related straight to Nixon's concerns). I don't think it'south accidental that Nixon's discussion of the "environmental picaresque" in the chapter on Sinha and the Bhopal catastrophee was the ane I'll be coming back to most frequently.

One last quibble. Although Nixon is probably right when he says that literary criticism about environmental issues--ecocriticism to use the argot--has been unremittingly Americanist in its focus, he oversimplifies several of the canonical writers who take been placed at the center of that canon. It may exist true that the critics have been parochial and overly invested in the "sublime," merely that's not an accurate description of Gary Snyder (who spent a not bad bargain of time in Asia and is in active dialog with Asian environmentalists), Edward Abbey (who'southward anything simply distanced in his take on how we relate to the state). or Terry Tempest Williams who, equally a Mormon woman, has emphasized the problems of marginalization of the victims in ways that parallel the writers Nixon justly celebrates.

Finally, although Nixon does a terrific job communicating his ideas to a non-bookish audience in public talks and journalistic essays, Slow Violence is a highly academic book. He spends a lot of fourth dimension orienting his ideas towards contemporary arguments amongst literary critics. To exist frank, I just don't give a damn about the relative prestige of post-colonialists or the theoretical discussion of cosmpolitanism vs. world literature. Some of the bug raised in those debates are interesting and, as SV demonstrates, a few are crucial. But I wish Nixon had written a book I could recommend for my not-academic friends, who on average are far far more than aware of the problems he raises than those located within academia.

The fact that I've written what's probably the longest GR review I'one thousand likely to says something nearly the importance of Slow Violence and the Environmentalism of the Poor. It frames questions and opens doors. It made me re-think my perspective on issues I've thought about a lot. A platform for further piece of work, on the folio and in the world.

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Jun 13, 2012 Dan's marked information technology equally to-read

-Extract froma friend--
Here's what I did not realize.

I did not realize that, fifty-fifty now, oil companies similar Shell literally fund and militarize tyrannical governments that won't concord them answerable for harm to the surround or the people of their country. I did not realize it was so common for them to do this, and then say they had no political sway when the government started literally killing those who first speaking out against the behavior of oil companies.

I did not realize oil companies

-Extract froma friend--
Here's what I did non realize.

I did not realize that, fifty-fifty now, oil companies similar Beat literally fund and militarize tyrannical governments that won't concord them accountable for harm to the environment or the people of their country. I did not realize it was and so common for them to do this, and and so say they had no political sway when the government started literally killing those who first speaking out confronting the behavior of oil companies.

I did not realize oil companies have been excited about the new possibilities opened up by global warming, as the arctic continues to melt and get in more than practical to start drilling upwards there. I did not realize the U.S. government was excited to help them expedite this process, by clearing away all the pesky blood-red tape that would go on them from doing so.

I did non realize that it is a common cold, hard fact that companies like Chevron spend more money advertising how much they care nearly alternative fuel sources than they really spend on developing alternative fuels. Although this isn't too hard to imagine.

I did not realize that, at the same time Barack Obama was gently slapping the hand of B.P. after the Deepwater Horizon disaster, he was making certain there was a maximum cap for the price oil companies would have to pay in the result of a oil disasters in Indian waters, no matter how tremendous the disaster is. The maximum cap? 0.5% of what nosotros expected B.P. to pay when a disaster happened in the U.Southward.

I did not realize that nosotros only hear nigh the oil spills that we are expected to be interested in. For example, we haven't heard much at all virtually the Exxon disaster'due south-worth of oil that has been spilled in Nigeria EVERY Yr, for more than than the final xxx years.I would have thought this was newsworthy.

I did not know that, when the Deepwater Horizon disaster happened, B.P. was relying on clean-upwards methods that were more than twoscore years old and had been developed for fresh water, considering they had never invested in developing make clean-upwardly methods since then, or for different ecosystems. I didn't realize that, while B.P. was so clueless near actually cleaning it up, they sent planes out at night to dunk the most heavily polluted parts of the water in a chemical that would cause the oil to clump and sink, doing possibly more environmental damage, only making it much harder to make up one's mind how big the disaster was.

I really, really wish I didn't have to take this book dorsum to the library tomorrow, and then I could write a full review with sources, ala Bird Brian. Instead, You lot only get to run into me in this state of shock as I attempt to make sense of all this. If yous can notice a copy of this, I definitely recommend it.

...more

Oct 05, 2020 Zainab rated it information technology was amazing

One of the most useful academic books I've come across so far, so I had to read it in total. Rob Nixon writes in an attainable and, at times, poetic way. The text focuses on the urgent intersection of environment and politics using literary perspectives to ballast each affiliate. Running through the book is an eye-opening linguistic analysis, from "precision warfare" to "developmental refugees", exploring how each phrase and metaphor serves to obscure ecologies of the aftermath. Nixon shows how it's Ane of the most useful academic books I've come up across and then far, so I had to read it in full. Rob Nixon writes in an accessible and, at times, poetic style. The text focuses on the urgent intersection of environment and politics using literary perspectives to anchor each chapter. Running through the book is an eye-opening linguistic analysis, from "precision warfare" to "developmental refugees", exploring how each phrase and metaphor serves to obscure ecologies of the aftermath. Nixon shows how it's impossible (but necessary) to calculate the tiresome, ongoing, devastating effects of violence, be they soil degradation or nativity defects.

The book brings in literary work from Ken Saro-Wiwa, Jamaica Kincaid, Abdelrahman Munif, Wangari Maathai, James Baldwin, Rachel Carson, Arundhati Roy and more than. All of the chapters are valuable, simply some particularly memorable ones: affiliate 3 looking at the struggle of the Ogoni people against Shell in the Niger Delta; chapter half-dozen boldly contrasting white supremacist backer modes of conservation with realities of war, displacement and survival; and chapter 7 which looks closely at "depleted uranium" and "cluster bombs" as misnomers against the continual effects of the 2003 Iraq State of war.

I really cannot recommend this volume enough, whether you're studying environmental, postcolonialism, literature or consider yourself to be an intersectional activist. Nixon's volume was published in 2011 and feels entirely relevant and recent – yet so much has happened since to further testify his arguments in real time.

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April 10, 2021 J rated information technology really liked it

uhghghgh reading this for my dissertation and then can't comment too much only... really skillful. focussed a lot on how writers can depict attending to environmental crisis, on how they can make wearisome violence visible! equally much a work of literary analysis every bit of a certificate of the environmentalism of the poor. uhghghgh reading this for my dissertation and so can't comment also much but... really good. focussed a lot on how writers can draw attention to ecology crisis, on how they can make slow violence visible! as much a work of literary analysis as of a document of the environmentalism of the poor. ...more

A lot of interesting concepts in this novel nigh the impact of less visible, delayed forms of environmental violence and how they disproportionately affect the POC poor. However, the whole thing read a lot similar an ode to the writer-activists, and much like a loftier school book report at times, which, for me, detracted from the impact of the actual histories. It would have been much more impactful as a detailed chronology of slow violence, perhaps making occasional reference to writers as they rel A lot of interesting concepts in this novel about the impact of less visible, delayed forms of environmental violence and how they disproportionately affect the POC poor. However, the whole thing read a lot like an ode to the writer-activists, and much like a high school book report at times, which, for me, detracted from the bear on of the actual histories. Information technology would have been much more impactful as a detailed chronology of slow violence, peradventure making occasional reference to writers as they relate to a detail history. It is currently rather convoluted and disruptive, both in the chronology and the sentence construction. ...more

Apr 07, 2018 Mary rated it it was astonishing

I of the almost important books I've read in a long time. One of the about of import books I've read in a long time. ...more

Sep 21, 2020 Nils Jepson rated it it was amazing

yeah this book is a revolution in the humanities and i don't call back i'm even using that word too lightly despite my drama. the book answers a lot of questions and concerns i had towards both ecology studies and literature, and clarifies and specifies on larger concepts i remembered ("why.we.hate.wilderness.literature!!!!") but forgot, exactly, why nosotros hate wilderness literature. it's too a brave book. it takes a materialist stance towards the humanities, which i recollect my classes rarely did, aye this volume is a revolution in the humanities and i don't think i'm even using that word too lightly despite my drama. the book answers a lot of questions and concerns i had towards both environmental studies and literature, and clarifies and specifies on larger concepts i remembered ("why.we.hate.wilderness.literature!!!!") just forgot, exactly, why we hate wilderness literature. information technology'south also a dauntless volume. it takes a materialist opinion towards the humanities, which i recollect my classes rarely did, and wades into the hierarchy, literature of environmental impact reports, financial statement, etc. to both build a broader definition of what literature can be, just besides how information technology's constantly showing up and defining our daily lives. this is what i wrote virtually the book at 2am a couple days ago:

"Ok why deadening violence the book is so cool is that it counters the increased aestheticization of narrative that's accompanies modernity and the consolidation of the ways of product/wealth/resource in a few owners/easily, especially in the arts. If we're only paying attention to aesthetics, like nosotros're taught to in typical English language literature, what are we missing? Hither, nosotros are missing entire unimagined communities, who, through neoliberal globalization, are seen equally surplus peoples, unnecessary to productive global "evolution" and are physically/imaginatively displaced from any type of visible sphere. The only way to pay attention to these folks is to pay attention to how material consolidation has left them poor, cleaved, oftentimes homeless and voiceless. To help give them vox, we must counter the narrativization of English literature and explore new modes of what literature even means, and what it can do. Aestheticization also only occurs one time people call back they tin live exterior, and beyond, their material means and conditions. Once the basic necessities are met. This is why these people command these narratives; they have the time and the resource to. They imagine their earth — rarely across. The bravery of a volume like this is that the upshot of a new sect environmental humanities is no less than a full on, open rebellion confronting the global neoliberal order and actors like the World Bank, Imf, WTO, Shell, US authorities, BP etc. The outcomes of a book like this are very material. Information technology's a discipline of the global underdog; i that has a articulate objective and goal (salubrious, sustainable, free living for everyone); has a articulate enemy (the transnational corporation); and has a clear leader — the third globe communities displaced (in place), burdened, dispossessed, left for dead, annihilitated, murdered, executed, imprisoned, encamped and the activist-writers that imagine, and help united states, imagine these struggles which are never-catastrophe, continuing, hopefully however fighting against all the odds thrown confronting them."

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May 20, 2020 Eleri rated information technology really liked it

Well I may not have bought 100 toilet rolls, just in the week before lockdown started I did raid the university library to stockpile all the books that could conceivably be useful for my essay, just in example it had to close... Now I'thousand stuck with them indefinitely, I thought I might as well read some of them properly.

This wasn't quite what I was expecting. Although Nixon did define and give examples of this concept of 'dull violence', the volume was less about the violence itself and more focused on

Well I may non have bought 100 toilet rolls, but in the week before lockdown started I did raid the university library to stockpile all the books that could conceivably be useful for my essay, only in case it had to close... At present I'm stuck with them indefinitely, I thought I might as well read some of them properly.

This wasn't quite what I was expecting. Although Nixon did define and requite examples of this concept of 'slow violence', the book was less about the violence itself and more focused on its representation in environmental writer-activism, and the diverse literary forms this can take. Places the emphasis firmly on the global south and attempts to span the carve up betwixt postcolonialism and environmental studies, discussing a huge breadth of environmental writing from across the world. Examines the reasons why writing from impoverished communities in the global south whose lives are threatened by environmental dull violence peradventure might not *quite* fit the American environmentalist literary mould and tradition of Thoreau etc., and is utterly damning of criticism on that ground. Unflinchingly critical of American foreign policy, and abdication of responsibility past transnational corporations was a recurring theme.

Didn't actually mention the UK all that much, simply when he did, there was some switching betwixt English and British where I wasn't totally sure if information technology was an intentional differentiation, or whether he was reverting to the American trend to conflate the ii (I call back Nixon himself isn't American, merely he is based and lives in the US). Interesting to find out that the Deepwater Horizon spill apparently inspired a whole load of xenophobic, anti-British sentiment and that Obama took to referring to BP as British Petroleum.

I had to Google a lot of stuff while I was reading this, some of it for background noesis, but also many, many words I didn't know. Yes information technology was conceptually quite dense and then some very specific vocab was necessary at certain points, but I did find myself rolling my optics when I got to 'subaqueous' in the epilogue. Ffs just write 'underwater'.

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Jan 28, 2021 Josh rated it actually liked information technology

It is possibly plumbing fixtures that information technology took me a while to read this book. Nixon's prose is wearisome, at times beautiful, and he writes words that should non be rushed. Essentially the thesis of this book is that environmental disasters and associated violence take persistent impacts on poor and communities of color, just that because of our commonage short attention span much of this violence is willfully ignored or discounted. Information technology is a book I have seen referenced a lot and I idea I should read it myself, It is perhaps fitting that information technology took me a while to read this book. Nixon's prose is tedious, at times cute, and he writes words that should not be rushed. Essentially the thesis of this volume is that environmental disasters and associated violence have persistent impacts on poor and communities of color, but that considering of our collective short attention span much of this violence is willfully ignored or discounted. It is a book I accept seen referenced a lot and I thought I should read it myself, and while parts of it were achingly beautiful, it is, fundamentally literary criticism - and I felt like the kid who didn't do the assigned readings, as much of the main literature he is critiquing I had not heard of. This created a fleck of an in-group/out-group experience with me being decidedly in the latter. Nevertheless, it is an important book to endeavour and work your way through, as I remember it does a wonderful job explaining the myriad ways that violence, slow yet devastating, is being off sourced to the poor. ...more

Feb 06, 2019 Eric rated information technology it was amazing

The brilliance he'southward able to capture in a single, magnificently jargon-complimentary phrase or sentence....the foresight and skill with which he turns environmentalist attending to time without abandoning either country or marginalized people....the way he makes novels I've never read accessible without resorting in any obvious or heavy-handed way to plot summary. Wow. And so expert, and then provocative, so helpful The luminescence he's able to capture in a single, magnificently jargon-gratuitous phrase or sentence....the foresight and skill with which he turns environmentalist attention to fourth dimension without abandoning either land or marginalized people....the fashion he makes novels I've never read attainable without resorting in any obvious or heavy-handed fashion to plot summary. Wow. So skillful, and so provocative, and then helpful ...more

This reminded me of that Nate Bargatze stand up chip where Leonardo DiCaprio simply tweets out diverse distressing facts like "Humans are killing sharks at ambitious rates! There will presently be no more sharks if things keep going the fashion they're going!" and he only has to sit down at that place, reading, with no solution in sight. This reminded me of that Nate Bargatze stand up bit where Leonardo DiCaprio merely tweets out various deplorable facts similar "Humans are killing sharks at aggressive rates! At that place volition soon be no more than sharks if things go along going the way they're going!" and he simply has to sit in that location, reading, with no solution in sight. ...more

Dec 20, 2021 Fiza rated it really liked it

Literally changed my life and the manner i view fiction. I'thou writing about this for my portfolio on postcolonial ecocriticism and i truly cannot find whatsoever flaws within this text. It's a perfect and a must read

EDIT: yes i know i said at that place are no flaws but after going over this text again i realised (correct me if i'grand wrong) that in that location is no focus on Native American and indigenous peoples literature. I feel similar if you are going to discuss environmental issues, you lot cannot get out out the global indigen

Literally changed my life and the way i view fiction. I'm writing nigh this for my portfolio on postcolonial ecocriticism and i truly cannot find any flaws within this text. It's a perfect and a must read

EDIT: yes i know i said there are no flaws simply after going over this text again i realised (correct me if i'yard wrong) that there is no focus on Native American and indigenous peoples literature. I feel like if you lot are going to discuss ecology bug, y'all cannot leave out the global indigenous peoples

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useful and instructive for developing a terminology for ongoing ecological disasters and why post-colonialism and environmental studies ought to be more compatible than they heretofore take been. alas, while focusing on the "slow violence" occurring in tandem with a sped upwards world of briefer attention spans, i notices how much ecological impairment has emerged in subsequent years that Nixon could not have foreseen (fracking, Flintstone, etc) useful and instructive for developing a terminology for ongoing ecological disasters and why post-colonialism and environmental studies ought to be more uniform than they heretofore have been. alas, while focusing on the "ho-hum violence" occurring in tandem with a sped up world of briefer attending spans, one notices how much ecological damage has emerged in subsequent years that Nixon could not have foreseen (fracking, Flint, etc) ...more

Jan 18, 2021 Lisa rated it liked information technology

Very interesting merely I found it hard to follow in some parts sine information technology talked about other texts that I had not read. It requires a broad personal knowledge to be fully understood.

February 08, 2021 Ryder Kimball rated information technology it was astonishing

Slow Violence and Environmentalism of the Poor is hands one of the more than insightful and unique books I've read. Rob Nixon opens with a discussion most how climate modify and environmental degradation disproportionality inflict a new form of insidious violence on the world'south poorest and most vulnerable populations. Withal, the book's focus shifts to the difficulty associated with communicating this dull violence that occurs over large temporal and spatial dimensions. Nixon, a professor in Man Slow Violence and Environmentalism of the Poor is easily ane of the more than insightful and unique books I've read. Rob Nixon opens with a discussion almost how climate change and environmental degradation disproportionality inflict a new form of insidious violence on the world'due south poorest and about vulnerable populations. Notwithstanding, the volume's focus shifts to the difficulty associated with communicating this slow violence that occurs over big temporal and spatial dimensions. Nixon, a professor in Humanities and the Surround, questions how artists tin "devise absorbing stories, images, and symbols adequate to the pervasive but elusive violence of delayed effects." To this caste, Deadening Violence and Environmentalism of the Poor engages with this subject area inside a literary framework. Nixon discusses ecology justice by placing writer-activists from affected areas in the global Southward at the forefront of the book'due south focus. It's a compelling method of addressing the egregious behavior of oil companies and certain countries (operating under postcolonial and neoliberal creeds) while highlighting the necessity of broadening the scope of voices within this field. Besides his innovative literary approach, Nixon'south writing is accessible and refreshing. It took me longer than normal to read simply considering I spent so much time collecting quotes and passages. The goal of this book is ambitious, and although some questions remain unanswered, information technology's a mandatory read for those interested in ecology justice.

"By slow violence I mean a violence that occurs gradually and out of sight, a violence of delayed destruction that is dispersed across time and space, an attritional violence that is typically non viewed as violence at all. Violence is customarily conceived as an event or activity that is immediate in time, explosive and spectacular in space, and as erupting into instant sensational visibility. Nosotros need, I believe, to engage a different kind of violence, a violence that is neither spectacular nor instantaneous, but rather incremental and accretive, its baleful repercussions playing out beyond a range of temporal scales."

"Both Carson and Sinha give the absence wrought by toxicity a sensory density; in and so doing they strike a complex temporal annotation, through blended elegy and apocalypse, lamentation and premonition, inducing in us a double gaze backward in fourth dimension to loss and forward to yet unrealized threats. Through this double gaze they restage environmental time, asserting its broad parameters against the myopic, fevered immediacy that governs the society of the ending-every bit-spectacle."

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Mar 31, 2022 Richard Marney rated it really liked it

This book is worth the journey.

The author confronts the reader with a never-ending stream of complex sentences that sadly obfuscates the messaging the kickoff read through. Once digested, yet, at that place'south a lot there. The three fundamental nuggets are: (1) Ecology degradation is a form of "boring violence" (the type that happens gradually and out of sight), that (2) affects the poor and powerless disproportionately, particularly when considering their limited contribution to the trouble; and (3) the ro

This book is worth the journeying.

The author confronts the reader with a never-catastrophe stream of complex sentences that sadly obfuscates the messaging the commencement read through. Once digested, however, in that location's a lot there. The three fundamental nuggets are: (i) Environmental degradation is a form of "slow violence" (the type that happens gradually and out of sight), that (2) affects the poor and powerless disproportionately, especially when considering their limited contribution to the trouble; and (three) the role of "activists-writers" have a significant place in the contend and hence the formation / implementation of public policy effectually the bug (for good or bad). The book explores a wide range of pertinent elements of this debate drawing on the writings of multiple commentators.

On a side but relevant note, the writer uses (coins?) the expression "bewilderer" to describe commercial and financial sector supported advocates who stymie progress towards sustainable evolution by creating doubts about the underlying scientific theory and empirical validation. Think cigarettes, Ddt, and now Climate Change.

Another useful concept discussed is "structural violence" (a form of indirect violence) where the trigger-happy deed only crystallizes long after the actions that gave rise to it have taken place.

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Aug fourteen, 2018 Adrik rated it it was amazing

This text was a revelation for me. The author, Rob Nixon, offers insight into how we are slowly damaging our earth, through what he calls slow violence, a process that is continuous only since it is not of the attending grabbing kind, 1 that goes unnoticed. The volume reads well merely is a tough read every bit he reveals a mix of greed and complacency as the cause for the state of our climate today. Nevertheless, I feel this book is important to read every bit information technology gives united states of america the terminology to discuss these issues as we This text was a revelation for me. The writer, Rob Nixon, offers insight into how we are slowly damaging our earth, through what he calls ho-hum violence, a procedure that is continuous but since it is not of the attending grabbing kind, one that goes unnoticed. The book reads well but is a tough read every bit he reveals a mix of greed and complacency as the cause for the state of our climate today. However, I feel this book is important to read as it gives us the terminology to discuss these issues as well as piffling rays of hope in the shape of movements begun by ordinary people wanting and achieving change. ...more

Mar 02, 2021 Blake Neumann rated it it was amazing

Really impactful text merely I remember when reading it I felt that it was difficult to cut through the dense language and feeling that it was fabricated slightly unapproachable because of this. Definitely geared towards a more bookish audience, but extremely illuminating and Nixon is and then elegant about the fashion he connects such seemingly disparate concepts.

Stellar contribution to eco criticism. Rob Nixon'due south discussion of climate modify as a slow and dangerous violence is excellent. The inclusion of writer-activists who demonstrate the environmental challenges for the poor in the global South was the perfect style to visualize and footing the major problems. Fantastic read but definitely a dumbo one that is at times difficult to understand.

Feb 17, 2022 kat rated it it was amazing

the lure of nostalgia and sublime aesthetics for white american environmentalists is a palpable forcefulness. this volume was admittedly incredible, difficult to read but beautifully written, and nixon's narratological dialogism of transnational environmentalism was singlehandedly some of the most fascinating theory i've ever read. the lure of nostalgia and sublime aesthetics for white american environmentalists is a palpable force. this book was absolutely incredible, difficult to read simply beautifully written, and nixon's narratological dialogism of transnational environmentalism was singlehandedly some of the almost fascinating theory i've always read. ...more

Jul 15, 2018 Kidada rated information technology it was amazing

In its capacity to make legible the experienced tiresome moving environmental horrors of public policy re: public works programs, infrastructure, and of war, Slow Violence is a devastating but must-read text.

Jun 21, 2019 Liam Govey rated it it was amazing

Currently researching on Nigerian oil for my dissertation (in relation to the works of Ben Okri), and I have to say this book is centre-opening in every sense. Anyone interested in environmental studies or ecocriticism, or even just the country of the planet absolutely must read this book.

January 25, 2020 Rhys rated it liked it

The 'uneventful violence' that is diffused and defused as a upshot of its slowness to draw our attention and hold information technology. Ho-hum Violence makes some interesting connections betwixt literary studies, poverty, (post)colonialism, and environmentalism. The 'uneventful violence' that is diffused and defused as a outcome of its slowness to describe our attention and hold information technology. Slow Violence makes some interesting connections between literary studies, poverty, (post)colonialism, and environmentalism. ...more

Aug 06, 2020 Clark rated information technology it was astonishing

It took a little for me to get into this book but in one case I did, I institute information technology to exist fascinating. Then once more, I'yard immensely interested in ecology rhetoric. This book left me with much to read and recollect near.

Well researched, well written. Potent stuff. A brilliant book.

February 08, 2019 Ian rated information technology really liked it

The Introduction goes incredibly hard.

Dec 07, 2020 Hanneke rated information technology liked it

Important book that has fabricated great impact conceptually in Literary and Cultural Studies, but information technology also stays at a chip of a distance of what it says it will research: the environmentalism of the poor.

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The net, information technology'southward safe to say, has inverse a lot of things. Massive worldwide communication systems have a way of doing that.   Ane of the more...

"Ours is an age of onrushing turbo-capitalism, wherein the present feels more abbreviated than it used to be – at to the lowest degree for the world's privileged classes who live surrounded by technological fourth dimension-savers that often compound the sensation of not having enough fourth dimension. Consequently, ane of the most pressing challenges of our historic period is how to adjust quickly eroding attention spans to the slow erosions of environmental justice. If, under neoliberalism, the gulf betwixt the enclaved rich and outcast poor has go e'er more pronounced, ours is besides an era of enclaved time wherein for many speed has become self-justifying, propulsive ethic that renders "uneventful" violence (to those who live remote from its attritional lethality) a weak claimant on our time. The attosecond pace of our age, with its restless technologies of infinite promise and infinite thwarting, prompts usa to keep flicking and clicking distractedly in an insatiable –often insensate– quest for quicker sensation"." — 5 likes

"It is a pervasive condition of empires that they touch peachy swathes of the planet without the empire's populace being aware of that touch - indeed without beingness aware that many of the afflicted places even exist. How many Americans are aware of the continuing socio environmental fallout from U.S. militarism and foreign policy decisions made three or four decades ago in, say, Angola or Laos? How many could even place those nation-states on a map?" — 3 likes

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Source: https://www.goodreads.com/en/book/show/10429440

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