Agenda

WATERSCAPES | Hydropolitical Epistemology in the Basin-Valley of Mexico. From the Invention of Modern World to Current Socio-Natural Dilemma

13 January 2025 h. 16:00 
Aula A, Ca' Bottacin, Venice

Abstract: 

Moving between the emergence of the modern global world and local natural history, the talk will explore the axiological and political implications of America's integration into the European worldview and economy, and its impact on the local environment and societies, analysing the case of the transformation of the Mexico basin into today's huge urban valley. We begin by recovering indigenous worldviews, both in Europe and Mesoamerica, and their transformation with the novelties of the 16th century and the first global empires and economies. The introduction of a new way of life, with exotic species such as livestock, and new labour dynamics altered the hydrogeology of the basin, which can be considered one of the first examples of the Anthropocene. Thus, in Mexico City, a controversy developed over modern imperialism, expropriation, and alternative ways of life, both at the university, driven by Alonso de la Veracruz, and in water management, which continued to be directed by local rulers. Later, at the global level, the 17th century offered a new epistemic justification for imperialism, while at the local level, the hydraulic governance of the Mexico Basin shifted towards an urban and European design. This “epistemocratic” and extractivist dynamic has continued for four centuries, but today it is clear that it is not sustainable in the medium term. Therefore, more democratic ways of life and governance must be invented, both within and outside academia. 

Speaker:
Omar Rodríguez Camarena
(UNAM, Mexico City, Mexico)

Link Zoom: 
https://unive.zoom.us/j/82797144532?pwd=RQbP3uKYUz9G9xHNgFedgUoTk6TRVQ.1
ID: 827 9714 4532
Passcode: Fc9q2F