The open veins of modernity: ecological crisis and the legacy of Byzantium and pre-Columbian America

Research output: Book/ReportBook

Abstract

The ecological crisis is the result of modernity's coloniality. The Moderns considered the Earth as 'natural resources' at their disposal. Their colonial vision of nature was complemented by that of nonmodern cultures like Byzantium and pre-Columbian America as passive or primitive, respectively. For the Moderns, the Byzantines were the 'librarians of humanity,' an inert repository of Greco-Roman knowledge, unable to produce their own. Byzantium's inertia was matched by that of nature, both reservoirs of epistemic and material resources. Thanks to those “librarians,” the supposedly inexhaustible supply of natural resources, and the epistemic and material riches of indigenous America, the Moderns believed they were inaugurating an epoch of intellectual maturity and infinite growth. Today, the enduring negative view of Byzantium and the ecological crisis confirm that we remain entangled in modernity's coloniality. We should decolonize both history and nature. To mitigate humanity's existential threat, modernity must be rethought and overcome.
Original languageEnglish
Place of PublicationCambridge
PublisherCambridge University Press
Number of pages78
ISBN (Electronic)9781009547079
ISBN (Print)9781009547116, 9781009547109
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 1 Jan 2025

Publication series

NameElements in environmental humanities
ISSN (Print)2632-3117
ISSN (Electronic)2632-3125

Keywords

  • Ecological crisis
  • Modernity
  • Byzantium
  • Pre-Columbian America
  • Decolonization

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