Jason Hickel Axworthy Lecture
Renowned author and economic anthropologist Dr. Jason Hickel will deliver a lecture titled “Imperialism, ecological breakdown and the degrowth imperative” on Wednesday, November 3, 2021 at 2:00 pm.
Our leaders are finally acknowledging the reality of climate breakdown and ecological collapse. Now we must face up to its primary cause: capitalism. Our economic system is based on perpetual expansion and extraction, which is devastating the living world. In this 45-minute talk, Hickel will discuss the colonial dimensions of the ecological crisis and how degrowth in the global North is necessary for any vision of global justice and regeneration.
About Jason Hickel
Originally from Eswatini, Dr. Hickel is Professor at the Institute for Environmental Science and Technology at the Autonomous University of Barcelona and Visiting Senior Fellow at the International Inequalities Institute at the London School of Economics. He is Associate Editor of the journal World Development and serves on the Statistical Advisory Panel for the UN Human Development Report, the advisory board of the Green New Deal for Europe, and the Harvard-Lancet Commission on Reparations and Redistributive Justice.
Hickel’s research focuses on global inequality, political economy, post-development, and ecological economics, which are the subjects of his two most recent books: The Divide: A Brief Guide to Global Inequality and its Solutions (Penguin, 2017), and Less is More: How Degrowth Will Save the World (Penguin, 2020), listed by the Financial Times and New Scientist as among the best books of the year.
His ethnographic work focuses on migrant labour and politics in South Africa, which is the subject of his first book, Democracy as Death: The Moral Order of Anti-Liberal Politics in South Africa (University of California Press, 2015). He is co-editor of two additional ethnographic volumes: Ekhaya: The Politics of Home in KwaZulu-Natal (University of KwaZulu-Natal Press, 2014) and Hierarchy and Value: Comparative Perspectives on Moral Order (Berghahn, 2018).
In addition to his academic work, Hickel writes regularly for The Guardian and Foreign Policy, and contributes to a number of other online outlets including Al Jazeera, Fast Company, Prospect, Jacobin, Le Monde Diplomatique, New Internationalist, Red Pepper, Truthout, and Monthly Review. His media appearances include Viewsnight, the Financial Times, the BBC World Service, Sky News All Out Politics, BBC Business Matters, Thinking Allowed, Renegade TV, NPR, Doha Debates, TRT World, the LA Times, Citations Needed, and Russell Brand's podcast Under the Skin.
Hickel has received a number of teaching awards, including the ASA/HEA National Award for Excellence in Teaching Anthropology. His research has been funded by Fulbright-Hays, the National Science Foundation, the Wenner-Gren Foundation, the Charlotte W. Newcombe Foundation, and the Leverhulme Trust.
About the Axworthy Lecture Series
The Axworthy Lectures aim at accessibility and are open to the public. In order to make the Axworthy Lectures as accessible as possible with free admission, the series relies on donations from the community. To keep the lecture series ongoing in this accessible format, .
The Axworthy Lecture Series was established to honour Dr. Lloyd Axworthy, President of the University of Winnipeg from 2004-14.