Please join us to The 1st SUCH Keynote Seminar titled “Structures of Sufficiency” by Associate Professor (Environmental Policy and Planning) Thomas Princen (University of Michigan) on Wednesday August 23rd from 15:15 to 16:45 (EEST).

SUCH organizes this seminar together with the Department of Economics and Management, University of Helsinki.

On-site location: Helsinki city center, University of Helsinki’s main building, room U4075, Unioninkatu 34.

You can also follow the seminar online:

https://helsinki.zoom.us/j/66345404243?pwd=VmNjRUQ1cUtldXJOVC9ZMkoySFBOdz09

Meeting ID: 663 4540 4243
Passcode: 152117

Thomas Princen is one of the pioneers and developers of the contemporary debates around the concept of sufficiency. More generally he has explored ecological and economic sustainability related topics at the University of Michigan. Selected books:

Treading Softly: Paths to Ecological Order, Princen, Cambridge: MIT Press, 2010.

The Logic of Sufficiency, Princen, Cambridge: MIT Press, 2005.

Confronting Consumption, Princen, Maniates and Conca, eds., Cambridge: MIT Press, 2002.

Environmental NGOs in World Politics: Linking the Local and the Global, Princen and Finger, London: Routledge, 1994.

Intermediaries in International Conflict, Princen, Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1992/1995.

At the beginning of this student-organized event, there will be a panel comprising on three Helsinki-based degrowth scholars: Pasi Heikkurinen, Toni Ruuska and Kristoffer Wilén. After the panel, the participants will discuss the themes from the panel in small groups. At the end, the organizers will aim to conclude with some words on how to proceed. The event does not require any advance preparations from you. The discussion will be general enough so that you can participate in the event, even if you have not had time to familiarize yourself with the following key texts: 

Schmelzer et al. (2022). The Future is Degrowth (introduction chapter from the book) 

Heikkurinen (2019). Degrowth: A metamorphosis in being.

Heikkurinen (2018). Degrowth by means of technology? 

In case of any questions, please do not hesitate to contact Essi Nuorivaara via helsinki.fi -email. 

Pasi Heikkurinen and Toni Ruuska have finished editing a critical volume on technology and sustainability, titled “Sustainability beyond Technology: Philosophy, Critique and Implications for Human Organization”, which will be published by Oxford University Press this month. Sustainable Change Research Network (SUCH) and The von Wright and Wittgenstein Seminar of the University of Helsinki are organizing the book launch event on Monday 29 March 14:15 – 15:45 (Finnish time). Please join us via Zoom https://helsinki.zoom.us/j/69227256813 (Meeting ID: 692 2725 6813) to hear more about the book and engage in discussion with the authors.

Synopsis of the book: Current debates on sustainability are largely building on a problematic assumption that increasing technology use and advancement are a desired phenomenon, creating positive change in human organizations. This kind of techno-optimism prevails particularly in the discourses of ecological modernization and green growth, as well as in the attempts to design sustainable modes of production and consumption within growth-driven capitalism. This transdisciplinary book investigates the philosophical underpinnings of technology, presents a culturally sensitive critique of technology, and outlines feasible alternatives for sustainability beyond technology. It draws on a variety of scholarly disciplines, including the humanities (philosophy and environmental history), social sciences (ecological economics, political economy, and ecology) and natural sciences (geology and thermodynamics) to contribute to sustainability theory and policy.

By examining the conflicts and contradictions between technology and sustainability in human organization, the book develops a novel way to conceptualize, confront, and change technology in modern society.

Table of Contents

1. Technology and Sustainability: An Introduction, Toni Ruuska and Pasi Heikkurinen

Part I. Conceptualizing Technology
2. The Question of Technology: From Noise to Reflection, Thomas Wallgren and Niklas Toivakainen
3. Earthing Philosophy of Technology: A Case for Ontological Materialism, Andreas Roos
4. Atechnological Experience Unfolding: Meaning for the Post-Anthropocene, Pasi Heikkurinen

Part II. Confronting Technology
5. Competition Within Technology: A Study on Competitive Thought and Moral Growth,Jani Pulkki and Veli-Matti Värri
6. Conditions for Alienation: Technological Development and Capital Accumulation,mToni Ruuska
7. What Does Fossil Energy tell us About Technology?, Tere Vadén
8. Reversing the Industrial Revolution: Theorizing the Distributive Dimensions of Energy Transitions, Alf Hornborg

Part III. Changing Technology
9. An Economy Beyond Instrumental Rationality, Karl Johan Bonnedahl
10. Small, Local, and Low-Tech Firm Firms as Agents of Sustainable Change, Iana Nesterova
11. Creative Reconstruction of the Technological Society: A Path to Sustainability, David Skrbina and Renee Kordie

12. Technology and Sustainability: A Conclusion, Pasi Heikkurinen and Toni Ruuska

Join Helsinki Summer School course Philosophy of Food in 4–20 August 2020

Helsinki Summer School is organised annually in August by the University of Helsinki, one of the world's top 1% research universities. It is an international summer school that offers courses covering a wide range of academic fields and up-to-date topics. You will earn credits and get an excellent chance to network with students and professionals in your field.

Helsinki Summer School course Philosophy of Food examines philosophical and ethical aspects of human interactions with the natural world, especially regarding the sustainable production of food. The course examines food from a multidisciplinary perspective, making use of anthropology, biology, ecology, sociology, psychology, economics, and philosophy. Students of these fields – advanced Bachelor’s level or at the Master’s level – are warmly invited to apply!

The deadline to apply is 15 June 2020. However, the students of the University of Helsinki may apply until 17 July 2020. Read more about the course and apply to Helsinki Summer School

A special issue of Sustainability

Deadline for manuscript submissions: June 1st 2020

Special issue information

The topic of agency in making the world a 'better place' is increasingly relevant, if not urgent. The aim of this Special Issue is to invigorate and, where possible, to integrate the debate on agency in sustainability transitions. In this respect, the Special Issue covers institutional actors, organizational actors, individual-level actors, as well as collective forms of sustainability agency.

In this light, we encourage submissions:

• From across the disciplinary bases studying sustainability agency, be it environmental management, sustainability science, corporate social responsibility, management and organization, environmental psychology, sociology, law, political science, economics, or anthropology;

• Conceptualizing sustainability (change) agency via theoretical development and synthesis;

•  Providing fresh empirical insights, and/or thorough reviews of existing bodies of knowledge, and/or theoretical developments on sustainability (change) agency;

• From emerging and leading researchers in the study of sustainability agency, representing facets of sustainability agency from across the globe;

•  Studying sustainability agency at individual, group, organizational, and/or institutional levels of analysis

Please, find more information behind the following link: https://www.mdpi.com/journal/sustainability/special_issues/Change_Agency_Sustainability_Transitions

For further details on the submission process, please see the instructions for authors at the journal website (http://www.mdpi.com/journal/sustainability/instructions).

With enthusiasm,

Satu, Katariina, Tiina & Marileena

Guest Editors

Political Mathematics

Presenter: Tommi Kauppinen

Commenter: Marko Lindroos, Chair: Katriina Soini

Abstract

TBA

About Culture and the Crisis Seminar Series

The contemporary culture can be linked to crisis in many ways. It is claimed to be in crisis; to generate myriad forms of crises; and also, to be a crisis in and of itself. This working seminar series delves into the phenomena of ‘culture’ and ‘crisis’, as well as investigates their interrelations and related manifestations. The aim is to deepen our understanding on the on-going crisis: (a) its description, including the causes, processes, and consequences, and (b) the relevant normative positions.

Each session will comprise of a 30-minute presentation + a 30-minute dialogue with a preselected commenter + a 30-minute discussion with all participants. The talks will be accompanied by full working papers, or extended abstracts at minimum, which will be distributed to all participants one week in advance.

The seminar series is organized by LIMBO in collaboration with the University of Helsinki, Faculty of Agriculture and Forestry, Department of Economics and Management; and Sustainable Change Research Network (SUCH). Seminars will take place on Viikki Campus, Biokeskus 1, room 3109 (‘Nahkakabinetti’) at 12-14 o’clock. For queries and registration, please contact pasi.heikkurinen@helsinki.fi.

Complex Relations between Culture and Sustainability

Presenter: Katriina Soini

Commenter: Pasi Heikkurinen, Chair: Risto Musta

Abstract

TBA

About Culture and the Crisis Seminar Series

The contemporary culture can be linked to crisis in many ways. It is claimed to be in crisis; to generate myriad forms of crises; and also, to be a crisis in and of itself. This working seminar series delves into the phenomena of ‘culture’ and ‘crisis’, as well as investigates their interrelations and related manifestations. The aim is to deepen our understanding on the on-going crisis: (a) its description, including the causes, processes, and consequences, and (b) the relevant normative positions.

Each session will comprise of a 30-minute presentation + a 30-minute dialogue with a preselected commenter + a 30-minute discussion with all participants. The talks will be accompanied by full working papers, or extended abstracts at minimum, which will be distributed to all participants one week in advance.

The seminar series is organized by LIMBO in collaboration with the University of Helsinki, Faculty of Agriculture and Forestry, Department of Economics and Management; and Sustainable Change Research Network (SUCH). Seminars will take place on Viikki Campus, Biokeskus 1, room 3109 (‘Nahkakabinetti’) at 12-14 o’clock. For queries and registration, please contact pasi.heikkurinen@helsinki.fi.

Ecosystemic Sense

Presenter: Risto Musta

Commenter: Jarkko Pyysiäinen, Chair: Tommi Kauppinen

Abstract

TBA

About Culture and the Crisis Seminar Series

The contemporary culture can be linked to crisis in many ways. It is claimed to be in crisis; to generate myriad forms of crises; and also, to be a crisis in and of itself. This working seminar series delves into the phenomena of ‘culture’ and ‘crisis’, as well as investigates their interrelations and related manifestations. The aim is to deepen our understanding on the on-going crisis: (a) its description, including the causes, processes, and consequences, and (b) the relevant normative positions.

Each session will comprise of a 30-minute presentation + a 30-minute dialogue with a preselected commenter + a 30-minute discussion with all participants. The talks will be accompanied by full working papers, or extended abstracts at minimum, which will be distributed to all participants one week in advance.

The seminar series is organized by LIMBO in collaboration with the University of Helsinki, Faculty of Agriculture and Forestry, Department of Economics and Management; and Sustainable Change Research Network (SUCH). Seminars will take place on Viikki Campus, Biokeskus 1, room 3109 (‘Nahkakabinetti’) at 12-14 o’clock. For queries and registration, please contact pasi.heikkurinen@helsinki.fi.

Sub-theme at the joint conference between the International Degrowth Research Network and the International Society for Ecological Economics in Manchester 2020 

Organisers: Ben Robra1, Iana Nesterova2 and William Young1 

1 University of Leeds, Faculty of Environment, Sustainability Research Institute 

2 Independent Researcher 

500 word abstracts should be submitted to ee16br@leeds.ac.uk by 19th of February 2020 

Abstract 

Degrowth calls for the reduction in matter-energy throughput while well-being increases (Kallis, 2018). This consequently means that both production and consumption need to reduce. This does not translate into a call for a reduction to zero, but current levels of production and consumption breach the planetary boundaries and limits to a safe operating space (Bonnedahl and Heikkurinen, 2019). Humans will still need to consume to fulfil their needs and survive. The question is how, what is produced and by whom in a sustainable degrowth society. Despite the need to reduce levels of production and consumption, little attention has been paid to organisations that produce in the degrowth discourse (Hankammer and Kleer, 2018). The concept of degrowth however has significant implications for these (Shrivastava, 2015). Similarly, ecological economics has paid little to no attention to the micro economic level of organisation (Dietz and O’Neill, 2013; Hardt and O’Neill, 2017). 

The sub-theme aims to answer questions around (not limited to): 

• What organisation and production for/in a sustainable degrowth society (or other post-growth alternative) entails and implies? 

• How forms of organisation can help achieve transformations to such societal alternatives? 

• What alternative organisation theories can be used instead of ones inline with the growth-based capitalist paradigm? 

• What are the implications for organising production in light of degrowth’s stance against accumulation and capitalism? 

Format 

We aim to have sessions with up to three paper presentations followed by an open and longer than usual discussion with presenters and audience at the end of each session. This means one discussion on all three papers together. Each presenter will be asked to be an in-depth discussant of another presentation/paper to accommodate this. Participation is encouraged live (particularly by presenters) however, remote participation is also possible. 

References 

Bonnedahl, K.J. and Heikkurinen, P. (eds.). 2019. Strongly Sustainable Societies: Organising Human Activities on a Hot and Full Earth 1 edition. London: Routledge. 

Dietz, R. and O’Neill, D. 2013. Enough Is Enough. London: Routledge. 

Hankammer, S. and Kleer, R. 2018. Degrowth and collaborative value creation: Reflections on concepts and technologies. Journal of Cleaner Production. 197, pp.1711–1718. 

Hardt, L. and O’Neill, D.W. 2017. Ecological Macroeconomic Models: Assessing Current Developments. Ecological Economics. 134, pp.198–211. 

Kallis, G. 2018. Degrowth. Newcastle upon Tyne: Agenda Publishing. 

Shrivastava, P. 2015. Organizational sustainability under degrowth. Management Research Review. 38(6). 

Culture of Alienation

Presenter: Toni Ruuska

Commenter: Tamás Matekovits, Chair: Rachel Mazac

Abstract

Since the days of Hegel and Marx, critical scholars and philosophers have tried to understand the nature of human alienation from ‘nature’, society and from the self. Although the role and questions of technology have been incorporated into these analyses to some extent, the relation between modern technology and the experience of alienation has remained understudied. In this paper, technology development and capital accumulation are discussed as key sources for modern-day alienation. Technology and its intertwined contemporary relation to capital accumulation and economic growth is discussed, in particular, in dialogue with Marx and Ellul, who have also written and theorized on the experience of alienation. In brief, this paper proposes that complex technological environments, extended division of labour, and capital accumulation – as the main goal of current economies, are key issues to be considered when tracing down the reasons, not only for environmental degradation, but also for social defects and problems, such as alienation.

About Culture and the Crisis Seminar Series

The contemporary culture can be linked to crisis in many ways. It is claimed to be in crisis; to generate myriad forms of crises; and also, to be a crisis in and of itself. This working seminar series delves into the phenomena of ‘culture’ and ‘crisis’, as well as investigates their interrelations and related manifestations. The aim is to deepen our understanding on the on-going crisis: (a) its description, including the causes, processes, and consequences, and (b) the relevant normative positions.

Each session will comprise of a 30-minute presentation + a 30-minute dialogue with a preselected commenter + a 30-minute discussion with all participants. The talks will be accompanied by full working papers, or extended abstracts at minimum, which will be distributed to all participants one week in advance.

The seminar series is organized by LIMBO in collaboration with the University of Helsinki, Faculty of Agriculture and Forestry, Department of Economics and Management; and Sustainable Change Research Network (SUCH). Seminars will take place on Viikki Campus, Biokeskus 1, room 3109 (‘Nahkakabinetti’) at 12-14 o’clock. For queries and registration, please contact pasi.heikkurinen@helsinki.fi.

A special issue of Sustainability  

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 January 2020. 

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Sooner or later, the Earth will reach the end of ‘the Anthropocene’. As the effects of changing climatic regimes impose greater effects on earthbound habitation and the known ways of being in the present geological epoch, we would like to consider how humans and/or socionature might and should respond. Could we, for example, imagine a time after the Anthropocene, when humans would no longer be the dominant species on the planet? And if so, what would this imply for social organization? Could we consider the notion of the ‘late Anthropocene’ relevant for discussing the present when humanity—albeit in different place-specific ways—is forced to adapt in radical ways to the challenges that it faces?

The scholarly debate to date has paid relatively little attention to this space–time. Instead, the discussion continues to revolve around questions such as when the human-dominated epoch began; what to call it; who or what is to blame for it; and how we might respond to it in the immediate future. While these questions certainly deserve consideration, effort should also be aimed at questions of how the Anthropocene might come to an end (as a discourse and as an epoch); what post-Anthropocene might look like; and what this might signify for organizing social change, and/or caring for the nonhuman nature.

This Special Issue focuses on questions of time and mobility, insofar as these concepts enrich our understandings of what comes after the Anthropocene and how to exit the Anthropocene. We seek manuscripts that explore time and mobility after the Anthropocene. In relation to time and/or mobility, possible topics/lenses are:

• Peace, conflict resolution, and nonviolence;

• Basic human and nonhuman needs (food in particular);

• Human–nature relationships, naturecultures, and socionatures;

• Utopias and dystopias, as well as mixtures of these two;

• Social movements and resistance;

• Nomadism, immigration, refugees;

• Collapse, survivalism, and anarcho-primitivism;

• Neo-indigenous imaginaries and ecovillages;

• Technology and tools;

• State, governance, policy, and law;

• Cosmology, spirituality, and religion.

Just as the Anthropocene marked a global matter-energetic shift, the end of the human epoch also marks significant changes in the deep geological time of the Earth’s history. Different temporal perspectives and rhythms might well play a role in how the time after the Anthropocene will unfold. There is a need to begin to conceive time not only in anthropocentric terms, but more holistically, e.g., in terms of rocks. Thus, instead of merely seeking to save the world for future human generations, consideration and care for other animals, plants, and rocks—constituents of the Earth—opens up a different time horizon.

A possibility is that the on-going mass movement of people and other earthbound beings will both be an outcome and reason for the new epoch. Furthermore, the travel of earthbound beings beyond the boundaries of Earth—the exploitation of space—is an issue calling for critical reflection. Finally, the mobility of deep geological formations of the Earth merits consideration as well; the movement of lithospheric plates has historically changed the course of life on the planet in a remarkable way. The trouble of moving, living, and dying together in the late Anthropocene necessarily brings about new practical and theoretical questions of power, as the recent formulations of ‘geopower’, for instance, cogently demonstrate.

Dr. Pasi Heikkurinen
Dr. Toni Ruuska
Prof. Anu Valtonen
Dr. Outi Rantala
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All papers will be peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Sustainability is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 1700 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

• Anthropocene

• time

• mobility

• nature

• culture

• sustainability

MODULUniversity is offering an exiting PhD position in the ITN Project "ICONN", including highly competitive remuneration, mobility and family allowances. 

Allthogether there are 15 PhD positions in our H2020 Innovative Training Network on Connectivity Science: http://iconn.network. It's the most interdisciplinary endeavor I have seen so far. [Two more related positions are offered with our close collaborators at Masaryk University.]

The goal for our PhD candidate for MODUL University is to explore the tools and theories in connectivity science for the purpose of analyzing critical flows of resources and energy through the human economy.

Deadline for applications: 30th January 2020.

Please find more details below or by  following this link.

********

Job title:               Doctoral Research Fellowship (PhD) (m/f/d), Fulltime 40h/w

Title:                      Flows of critical (energy) resources

Location:                MODUL University Vienna, Am Kahlenberg 1, 1190 Vienna | Austria

Duration:              3 years 

Closing date:     30th January

Latest possible starting date: 1st July 2020

Contacts:              Christian Kerschner: christian.kerschner@modul.ac.at
Dimitris Christopoulos: Dimitris.Christopoulos@modul.ac.at

Gross Living Allowance: 32 088 € per year plus mobility allowance

Salary is subject to national taxes and employer’s costs. The offer includes a fee waiver for all 4 years of the PhD programme worth 45.000€.

PhD Research project

In this PhD project secondary data e.g. from the World Bank or the International Energy Agency (IEA) and insights from the recent H2020 project MEDEAS will be used to: (1) Bring in and advance theoretical and empirical insights from Ecological Economics, Industrial Ecology, Energy Analysis, Graph Theory, Networks Science and Game Theory; (2) Use these insights to draw analytical maps of the global network of oil (energy) flows in the socio-economic system, taking into account both quantity and quality of the resource including price mechanisms; (3) Quantification of flows for the design of a ‘mind-sized’ oil (energy) flow-model e.g. system dynamics combined with Input-Output models and social network analysis; (4) Identify critical nodes that determine flows and systemic robustness, which could be used as flow-limiting agents for policies designed to meet carbon budgets and counteract limitations (resource peaks). Moreover, this is expected to provide theoretical insights into the specific functioning of the energy-economy nexus; help to make the link with other nexus e.g. the water-economy nexus and to explore the “why” of connections within networks (as to the “how”).

The project includes research collaboration with IIASA (AT), Masaryk University Brno (CZ), University of Groningen (NL), Jacobs University Bremen (G), European University Cyprus, the UK Environmental Agency and dependent on the specific research needs other partners of the network.

Applying for this position

To apply for this position, we require a copy of your CV, degree transcripts, motivation letter, published or Master thesis sample writings, short description of how you would approach the research project (1 page max) and the names of two referees. For further information and inquiries about the position, please contact Christian Kerschner or Dimitris Christopoulos. Please indicate in your motivation letter if you are interested in being considered for any of the other PhD positions in our network (and that you are happy for your data to be shared with the respective institution).

Apply for this position 

Context

This research fellowship programme (PhD) will be carried out within the context of the i-CONN network, a Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions– Innovative Training Network (ITN) – project funded by the European Commission, under the H2020 program. Through the project activities, the Fellows/PhD students will have the opportunity to come in contact and collaborate with some of the best European research groups. English is the official language of the i-CONN project. Additional details are available in “Further particulars”.

Responsibilities

1. Perform high quality research in the bespoke research project under the guidance of the supervisory team.

2. Assist with the development of research goals and objectives.

3. Develop and test new hypotheses, analysing scientific data from a variety of sources, assessing, and refining working hypotheses as appropriate.

4. Meet the members of the supervisory team on a regular basis to discuss their research on a regular basis.

5. Widen their personal knowledge in the research area and undertake complementary training.

6. Directly contribute ideas to the direction of the research project supported by detailed and critical reference to previously published literature and knowledge exchange through the i-CONN network.

7. Keep comprehensive, accessible, secure records of all experimental and modelling work, data, and analyses.

8. Prepare regular research reports and participate in scheduled face-to-face and online meetings including presentation of research results.

9. Liaise effectively with all members of the local and international research team.

10. Participate in the activities of the Network as specified in the Grant Agreement and/or required by the node coordinator, including secondments in other network nodes and taking part in the network meetings and in the training activities.

11. Write up the results of the research activity and present research papers and publications at meetings and conferences, as advised by the supervisors, and contribute to the overall goals of the network.

12. Keep records of the activities, such as research, training, secondments, visits, leave of absence, etc.

13. Be prepared to undertake some aspects of undergraduate student teaching, which may include small-group teaching (workshops and tutorials) or class demonstrating. 

Person Specification

The successful candidates must satisfy the eligibility criteria (see below) and have:

1. A Master’s degree (MSc) or equivalent in a relevant quantitative discipline, in particular of the social sciences e.g.: Sustainability Sciences, Ecological Economics, Resource Economics, Industrial Ecology, Energy Studies, Networks Science, etc.

2. A keen interest in pursuing research in the development of Connectivity Science in relation to the nexus between energy and resource flows and the human society/economy.

3. Good computational skills

4. The ability to work independently and as a member of a research team.

5. Excellent interpersonal and communication skills.

6. Well-organised and highly-motivated with good time-management skills and the ability to focus on project objectives.

7. Willingness to assist with day-to-day operation of the research group, to assume a share of group responsibilities, and to contribute to impact reports, dissemination and outreach activities, including updates of the i-CONN project website, secondment and training event reports, posters, etc.

8. A good command of English language, with excellent oral and written skills.

9. Willingness to travel internationally for training events, secondments and conferences.

10. Willingness to re-locate to reside within a reasonable distance of MODUL University (or seconded institution) for the duration of the post.

* Note that female candidates are particularly encouraged to apply.

Desirable

Any or combination of the following will be a clear advantage:

• A demonstrable ability or potential to produce research published in peer-reviewed journals and other outlets with quality assurance.

• Experience in nexus research (Resources-Economy-Society).

• Experience with analytical software such as ‘R’

• A good strategic fit with existing research expertise in the host institution and the i-CONN network

• Interest in Post-Growth or Degrowth perspectives

• Prior grass-root/hands-on experience with the subject to be studied.

• Knowledge of, or willingness to learn, the language of the host institution (German).

Eligibility Criteria

To satisfy the eligibility requirements set for an Early Stage Researcher (ESR) funded by Marie Skłodowska-Curie you:

1. should have — at the date of recruitment — less than 4 years of a research career, and not have a doctoral degree. The 4 years are measured from the date when the ESR obtained the degree which would formally entitle them to embark on a PhD, either in the country where the degree was obtained or in the country where the PhD is provided.

2. should not — at the date of recruitment— have resided in the country where the research training takes place for more than 12 months in the 3 years immediately prior to recruitment, and not have carried out your main activity (work ,studies, etc.) in that country (trans-national mobility). For refugees under the Geneva Convention (1951 Refugee Convention and the 1967 Protocol), the refugee procedure (i.e. before refugee status is conferred) will not be counted as ‘period of residence/activity in the country of the beneficiary’.

3. satisfy the eligibility requirements to enrol on a PhD degree. This includes acceptable English language requirements if English is not your first language.

 Further particulars

Modul University Vienna equal opportunities

Modul University Vienna is an equal opportunity employer with a strong commitment to equality and diversity that does not discriminate on the basis of disability, gender or gender expression, sexual orientation, age, social class, nationality, religion, ethnicity, race or color. We especially encourage qualified women and members of minority groups to apply and welcome all applications that can contribute to a diverse working culture.

Allowance eligibility depends on the personal circumstances of the fellow:

Marie Sklodowska-Curie PhDs are paid a competitive gross salary of 3,270 € per month, adjusted for their host country, a Mobility Allowance of 600 € per month and, for researchers who have a family, a Family Allowance of 500 € per month. All amounts are subject to employers’ and employees’ deductions and taxes.

Family is defined as persons linked to the researcher by (i) marriage, or (ii) a relationship with equivalent status to a marriage recognised by the national legislation of the country of the beneficiary or of nationality of the researcher, or (iii) dependent children who are actually being maintained by the researcher; family status is determined at recruitment and does not evolve.

The i-CONN project

In recent years, parallel developments in disciplines as disparate as Ecology, Geomorphology, Neuroscience, Social Science and Systems Biology have focused on what is termed connectivity. In its simplest form, connectivity is a description of the level of connectedness within a system, and can be quantified in terms of structural connectivity (SC) which describes how elements within a system are physically or spatially connected, and functional connectivity (FC) which describes how the strength/presence of these connections varies over space and time.

In all of these disciplines, connectivity has been a transformative concept in understanding and describing what are considered to be complex systems, allowing unprecedented analysis of how such systems behave. Connectivity research is more than a way of grouping elements in a system together based on their SC, but is driven by the notion that a structural network will systematically shape the dynamical processes (and hence the function) within this system. As a consequence, relationships between structural and functional connectivities need to be evaluated and studied on all topological scales. Whilst conceptualisations and approaches to quantify connectivity have evolved largely within their disciplinary boundaries, similarities in the concept and its application among disciplines are also evident.

i-CONN will exploit synergies among different conceptualisations and applications of connectivity. For example, we will evaluate statistical approaches and mathematical theories that have arisen across a range of disciplines in order that we might develop generic connectivity tools to understand better the characteristics of complex systems. i-CONN will provide interdisciplinary training integrating knowledge and methods from different disciplines and stakeholders from the public, private and NGO sectors, using a synthesis of approaches that will lead to transdisciplinarity, whereby a unity of intellectual frameworks will be created beyond the disciplinary perspectives.

i-CONN brings together leading academic and non-academic partners across Europe from those disciplines that have led advances in Connectivity Science with the goal of training a new generation of experts in the application of connectivity concepts to advance both research and practical understanding to address this need. i-CONN will train ESRs to become experts with a unique skill set that includes interdisciplinary scientific techniques and applications of Connectivity Science, to address real-world challenges through a bespoke series of specialized training courses and secondments.

The i-CONN network

Coordinator:  Durham University, Durham UK.

i-CONN Beneficiaries

AAI Scientific Cultural Services Ltd. (Cyprus), Aix-Marseille University (France), BOKU (Austria), Durham University (UK), European University Cyprus (Cyprus), Jacobs University (Germany), Masaryk University (Czech Republic),  MODUL University Vienna (Austria), University of Vienna (Austria), University of Groningan (Netherlands)

i-CONN partners

IIASA (Austria), The University of Sheffield (UK), Environment Agency (UK),

Data protection

The i-CONN Network is committed to respecting the confidentiality of the information provided by the applicant: personal data collected for the present proceeding will be processed for the sole purposes connected with and instrumental to the selection procedure and the eventual management of the job contact, in conformity with the current provisions. The person responsible for the Personal Data Handling is the principal investigator at the host institution.

Sociocultural Affordances and Enactment of Agency: A Transactional View

Presenter: Jarkko Pyysiäinen

Commenter: TBC, Chair: Toni Ruuska

Abstract

The concept of ‘affordances’, originally developed by James J. Gibson, the founding father of ecological psychology, has recently been subject to widespread theoretical interest, across disciplinary boundaries. Gibson originally conceived affordances as action possibilities afforded to an animal (including humans) by the environment where its actions are embedded, and with respect to which the animal was portrayed as actively regulating its behavior. Already Gibson’s original formulations were thus, first, informed by a broadly relational, or mutualist, metatheory and, second, emphasizing the role of agents’ active agency in processes of perception and action. Subsequently, scholars have proposed that broadly relational affordance concepts could also be applied to theorize how aspects of sociocultural environments afford possibilities for action to human agents. This paper argues that if and when attempting to extend the affordance concept to cover action possibilities characteristic of our sociocultural environments, a transactionally informed relational perspective – along the lines formulated by classical pragmatist thinkers (Dewey and Bentley, implicitly also Peirce, Mead) – proves useful. A transactional perspective helps to reveal the intimate conceptual connections between sociocultural affordances (SCAs) and agency: both are crucially about contextually defined goal-directed doings, and about learning to fluently master particular patterns of habits, skills and sociocultural practices in culturally appropriate and socially feasible ways. The paper proceeds, first, by outlining critical issues in the conceptualization of SCAs, second, by illustrating how the concept of SCAs also points towards a transactional conception of agency enactment and, third, how a transactionally informed version of relational metatheory helps to further elaborate on the dynamic complementarity between SCAs and agency enactment.

About the Culture and the Crisis Seminar Series

The contemporary culture can be linked to crisis in many ways. It is claimed to be in crisis; to generate myriad forms of crises; and also, to be a crisis in and of itself. This working seminar series delves into the phenomena of ‘culture’ and ‘crisis’, as well as investigates their interrelations and related manifestations. The aim is to deepen our understanding on the on-going crisis: (a) its description, including the causes, processes, and consequences, and (b) the relevant normative positions.

Each session will comprise of a 30-minute presentation + a 30-minute dialogue with a preselected commenter + a 30-minute discussion with all participants. The talks will be accompanied by full working papers, or extended abstracts at minimum, which will be distributed to all participants one week in advance.

The seminar series is organized by LIMBO in collaboration with the University of Helsinki, Faculty of Agriculture and Forestry, Department of Economics and Management; and Sustainable Change Research Network (SUCH). Seminars will take place on Viikki Campus, Biokeskus 1, room 3109 (‘Nahkakabinetti’) at 12-14 o’clock. For queries and registration, please contact pasi.heikkurinen@helsinki.fi.

The Post-Anthropocene Diet

Presenter: Rachel Mazac

Commenter: Markus Vinnari, Chair: Pasi Heikkurinen

Abstract

Given global food systems challenges inherent in the current geological epoch known as the Anthropocene, this article examines how future diets could de-center human consumers enabling movement into the Post-Anthropocene. The article uses Indigenous ontologies as an example of humans and non-humans in relational—more sustainable—dietary practices, then employs the subsequent analog of object-oriented ontology/ecosophy as a theoretical foundation for shifting from the dominant productivist paradigm in ‘western’ food systems. Through the lens of temporality, a framework for guiding future diets—including possible post-growth and de-growth examples—in(to) the Post-Anthropocene is proposed. This is a novel attempt to integrate non-anthropocentric theories to suggest possible futures for human dietary practices in order to exit the Anthropocene epoch. Since many definitions and guidelines of sustainable diets are future-oriented, these de-anthropocentric models demonstrate how temporality can be a dimension of consideration in shifting to more sustainable diets to address public health, climate change, and socioeconomic challenges.

Keywords: sustainable diets; Anthropocene; Indigenous ontologies; temporality; sustainable futures

About the Culture and the Crisis Seminar Series

The contemporary culture can be linked to crisis in many ways. It is claimed to be in crisis; to generate myriad forms of crises; and also, to be a crisis in and of itself. This working seminar series delves into the phenomena of ‘culture’ and ‘crisis’, as well as investigates their interrelations and related manifestations. The aim is to deepen our understanding on the on-going crisis: (a) its description, including the causes, processes, and consequences, and (b) the relevant normative positions.

Each session will comprise of a 30-minute presentation + a 30-minute dialogue with a preselected commenter + a 30-minute discussion with all participants. The talks will be accompanied by full working papers, or extended abstracts at minimum, which will be distributed to all participants one week in advance.

The seminar series is organized by LIMBO in collaboration with the University of Helsinki, Faculty of Agriculture and Forestry, Department of Economics and Management; and Sustainable Change Research Network (SUCH). Seminars will take place on Viikki Campus, Biokeskus 1, room 3109 (‘Nahkakabinetti’) at 12-14 o’clock. For queries and registration, please contact pasi.heikkurinen@helsinki.fi.

Introducing Sustainable Consumptio by Dr Sylvia Lorek

Date: 27.11.2019

Time: 14.00-15.00

Place: University of Helsinki, Room 541 (sh.14), Forest Sciences House, Latokartanonkaari 7, Viikki Campus

This presentation is a trial lecture for the title of docent at the University of Helsinki, Faculty of Agriculture and Forestry, Department of Economics and Management. No need to register.

Author bio: Sylvia Lorek is Chair of the Sustainable Europe Research Institute Germany e.V and Member of SUCH. She is working on studies and as consultant for national and international organisations and institutes and active in various national, regional and global networks on sustainable consumption. She holds a Ph.D. in consumer economics based on degrees in household economics and nutrition (Oecotrophologie) as well as economics. The combination of these two disciplines provides her with the tools - the individual micro-economic and the societal macroeconomic perspective - for a well-founded analysis of the contexts, in which the scientific and societal discourses about sustainable consumption take place.

Just transition to sustainability – insights from the Global South and North

Place: University of Helsinki, Viikki Campus, Info Center, Room 235 (Auditorium 2)

Time: Monday 18 November 2019 at 4-7 pm

Speaker: Pella Thiel works with relational, systemic activism, change processes and leadership för a society in harmony with nature. She is a co-founder and board member of the Swedish Transition Network, End Ecocide Sweden, Save the Rainforest Sweden and the swedish Network for Rights of Nature. She coordinated the first two Rights of Nature Conferences in Sweden. She has edited two books on nature interpretation and is currently working on a book on rights of nature. Pella has an MSc in Ecology from Stockholm University with the thesis on rainforest restoration in Ecuador. She enjoys pigs, her greenhouse (which has been under construction for four years) and having her hands in the soil at the smallholding in the archipelago of Stockholm where she lives. She is part of the eco-psychology/activist NGO Lodyn, UN Harmony with Nature initiative and the Common cause international network. The WWF has named her environmental hero of the year 2019.

Background: Calls for significant societal transformations are growing because of the alarming trends of climate chaos, species extinction and pollution. Active networks of scholars, activists and practitioners are building alternatives on both on the ground and on intellectual speheres. The event will update on some of the interesting processes, such as the omställningrörelse in Sweden and systemic alternatives from the global South. Pella Thiel from Sweden will deliver the keynote.

Contact: Marko Ulvila, Siemenpuu Foundation marko.ulvila at kapsi.fi

Co-organisers: Department of Economics at the University of Helsinki in collaboration with Siemenpuu Foundation’s working group on ecological democracy, Finnish Degrowth Newtork and Sustainable Change Research Network.

Welcome, free entrance!

Atechnological Experience Unfolding

Presenter: Pasi Heikkurinen

Commenter: Toni Ruuska, Chair: Jarkko Pyysiäinen

Abstract

This paper will introduce and define ‘atechnological experience’ as the absence of technological framing in consciousness. The focus of the paper is on the question: how technology and its non-appearance alter the human experience differently, and what are its consequences on ‘being sustainable’. The presentation proposes that when atechnology enters the experience and provides an alternative frame for being, nature unfolds differently. When technology is not in between humans and nature, there is a direct relationship between the part (humans) and the whole (nature). This results in the disclosure of oneness, where the boundaries between the two spheres amalgamate, unifying being in truth. However, as human organization is largely technological and the pluralist ontology is politically of great relevance, this paper proposes complementarity between the pluralist and monist arguments regarding technology in nature. Nevertheless, the importance of the atechnological experience is claimed to be essential for a more complete understanding of the human place in nature, as well as useful in the conceptual toolkit in outlining a proper response to the hegemony of insatiable, unsustainable growth of human organization.

About Culture and the Crisis Seminar Series

The contemporary culture can be linked to crisis in many ways. It is claimed to be in crisis; to generate myriad forms of crises; and also, to be a crisis in and of itself. This working seminar series delves into the phenomena of ‘culture’ and ‘crisis’, as well as investigates their interrelations and related manifestations. The aim is to deepen our understanding on the on-going crisis: (a) its description, including the causes, processes, and consequences, and (b) the relevant normative positions.

Each session will comprise of a 30-minute presentation + a 30-minute dialogue with a preselected commenter + a 30-minute discussion with all participants. The talks will be accompanied by full working papers, or extended abstracts at minimum, which will be distributed to all participants one week in advance.

The seminar series is organized by LIMBO in collaboration with the University of Helsinki, Faculty of Agriculture and Forestry, Department of Economics and Management; and Sustainable Change Research Network (SUCH). Seminars will take place on Viikki Campus, Biokeskus 1, room 3109 (‘Nahkakabinetti’) at 12-14 o’clock. For queries and registration, please contact pasi.heikkurinen@helsinki.fi.

We are now taking the next steps in giving content to the network by holding the first physical meeting at the University of Helsinki (centre campus). The network is still open to new members. Please feel free to distribute this invitation to your colleagues whom might be interested to join and who you think share our commitment to sustainable change.

Some additional more informal activities are planned for Friday evening and Saturday afternoon for those who are able and willing to stay. It is also important – not least for climate reasons – to enable participation of those who cannot be present physically. Therefore, key parts of the meeting will involve the option to join via ICT (exact time and format will be given later) and comments on outcomes from the meeting will be possible.

This workshop has the dual objective to (1) explore and discuss different research ideas related to the Anthropocene theme and (2) provide input to the network’s activities. As regards the first, you will be given the opportunity to present your ideas of the contemporary society and its development, with a focus on how to go from here. The guiding questions of the workshop are the following: how to adapt to new realities; how to challenge and resist unsustainable structures, processes and lifestyles; and how to communicate your analysis and implications in order to enable sustainable change? This is also intended to give a basis for the discussion and decisions regarding the network’s activities, on which we will be focus on the second day but will most likely begin already in the evening following the workshop.