Conference

The key organizing theme for the Colloquium is “Contested rural spaces”. We invite you to discuss different perspectives on developments in rural systems allowing divergences between concepts as ‘territory’ that are used differently in Latin America. We argue in line with Sandoval et al. (2017:43) that focusing on such conceptual shifts “rais[e] questions over the possibility of a multiple construction of key geographical concepts” (see also Martín 2023 on this topic).

Integrating this complexity, we aim to contribute to a mutual and diverse understanding of these concepts which have real-world implications on the sustainable transformation of rural systems.

At the same time, this transformation doesn’t happen ‘out there’ and some scholars are increasingly searching to enrich the academy with different ways of knowledge and worldviews. As Ives et al. (2020:208) pose it: “We argue that preoccupation with external phenomena and collective social structures has led to the neglect of people’s ‘inner worlds’—their emotions, thoughts, identities and beliefs. These lie at the heart of actions for sustainability, and have powerful transformative capacity for system change”. These perspectives are in line with the framing of the Anthropocene which asks to renew approaches in human and non-human collectives. Debaise et al. (2015) among others claim that nature should not be a simply backdrop of our human projects.

The concept of territory is also entangled with the soil. Being a body who gives the gift of life in the view of some communities, soil has also become a commodity which “has led to a focus on soil fertility as the principal mode of engaging with soils” (Salazar et al. 2020:21). But several studies in environmental anthropology, science and technology studies, as well as indigenous studies, and history are engaged to renew and recover more holistic and deeper understandings of soil for the academy.

Furthermore, territory is intimately linked to place attachment and subsistence (Steinhäuser 2020). Bruno Latour has always tried to remind us ‘moderns’ of our belonging to the earth (see Latour 2018). Here, also hybrid imaginary of territories, especially in young peoples are relevant (de la Vega Leinert  et al. 2021). At the same time, some examples of resistance of communities all over the world will be valuable contributions to this conference (e.g. Rico and Volmer 2023).