SLS-France Fall 2023 Week 7 

in Photos + "Ecocritical Threes"

October 11, 2023

Brigitte Stepanov

Welcome to another installment of "Ecocritical Threes," a brief three-point summary of the week's theory (in-class discussions) and practice (community engagement and experimental learning). The "Ecocritical Threes" series shares questions posed, reflections had, and anecdotes told, providing a glimpse into the interdisciplinary and intersectional thinking with which we are approaching climate change and climate justice this semester. 

Energy/Industry/Rare Earths + Community Building Through Food 

1. What do these two topics have in common?

Our latest week of community engagement here in Metz might have an answer to this question. This week, we spent time at 1. PC Solidaire, an association that works to reduce computer-related waste and build digital equity and 2. Graoucoop, a food cooperative built on the principles of energy sobriety, equity, and autonomy (as pictured below). Both organizations strive to build community while reducing the ecological impact of industry - whether technological or agricultural. While engaging with the tenets of these two community organizations, we reflected on the extractivist energy and mineral economies at the base of the tech and food that we encounter day-to-day.

2. How can we reduce our carbon footprint by changing where we buy our tech and our food?

3. In what ways does the history of technology help us understand our current ecological crises and, in turn, make social equity and environmental justice center stage moving forward?