Projects of devotion: energy exploration and moral ambition in the cosmoeconomy of oil and gas in the Western United States

Mette Marie High

doi:10.1111/1467-9655.13013

Projects of devotion: energy exploration and moral ambition in the cosmoeconomy of oil and gas in the Western United States

Mette Marie High

Social Anthropology

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

14 Citations (Scopus)

5 Downloads (Pure)

Abstract

This article considers how people working in the oil and gas industry in Colorado perceive their involvement in energy exploration in relation to broader understandings of devotion, compassion, and outreach. I argue that although their energy projects may appear to merely echo companies’ formal promotional pitches, the oil field and corporate actors’ own moral ambitions reveal more-than-human cosmoeconomic visions of oil’s potentiality. This article thus demonstrates how multiple and diverging ethical registers intersect and inform the valuation of oil.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	29-46
Journal	Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute
Volume	25
Issue number	S1
Early online date	11 Mar 2019
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-9655.13013
Publication status	Published - Apr 2019

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10.1111/1467-9655.13013Licence: CC BY

High_2018_JRAI_ProjectsDevotion_CCBY-VoR
© 2019 The Authors. Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of Royal Anthropological Institute. This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Final published version, 955 KBLicence: CC BY

ENERGY ETHICS: Energy Ethics
High, M. M. (PI), Destree, P. (Researcher) & Field, S. (Researcher)
European Research Council
1/07/17 → 30/06/22
Project: Standard
Energy ethics in the contemporary world: Energy ethics in the contemporary world
High, M. M. (CoI)
The British Academy
1/04/15 → 31/03/17
Project: Standard
Leverhulme Early Career Fellowship: Leverhulme Early Career Fellowship
High, M. M. (PI)
The Leverhulme Trust
1/01/14 → 31/08/16
Project: Fellowship

Mette Marie High
- mmh20st-andrews.acuk
- Social Anthropology - Professor
- Centre for Energy Ethics - Director of the Centre for Energy Ethics
Person: Academic

Cite this

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abstract = "This article considers how people working in the oil and gas industry in Colorado perceive their involvement in energy exploration in relation to broader understandings of devotion, compassion, and outreach. I argue that although their energy projects may appear to merely echo companies{\textquoteright} formal promotional pitches, the oil field and corporate actors{\textquoteright} own moral ambitions reveal more-than-human cosmoeconomic visions of oil{\textquoteright}s potentiality. This article thus demonstrates how multiple and diverging ethical registers intersect and inform the valuation of oil.",

author = "High, {Mette Marie}",

note = "This project has received funding from the European Research Council (ERC) under the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement No 715146. The authors also acknowledge the funding received to carry out this research from the Leverhulme Trust (ECF‐2013‐177) and the British Academy (EN150010).",

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Projects of devotion: energy exploration and moral ambition in the cosmoeconomy of oil and gas in the Western United States

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Projects

ENERGY ETHICS: Energy Ethics

Energy ethics in the contemporary world: Energy ethics in the contemporary world

Leverhulme Early Career Fellowship: Leverhulme Early Career Fellowship

Profiles

Mette Marie High

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