Lecture at University of Oslo in October

I have been invited by professor in criminology Guri Larsen to give a lecture this autumn as part of her seminar in "økologisk-global kriminologi" (eco-global criminology). We have scheduled that I will talk October 19th. I will probably choose the global species as my topic.

Abstract for "The global species"

The publication of my article "The global species" in Britain's New formations is approaching, and in the process I have just written an abstract for it.

AbstractThe phenomenon of colonialism is in this article treated with reference to our stepwise establishment throughout history of something akin to a global colonial organism. The concept of ‘global species’, which is introduced for the first time, applies not only to the human species but furthermore to several of our affiliated species. Due to disparity in ecological and climatic conditions, global presence may never before have been a typical characteristic of dominating species – but it is today. Humankind’s successful proliferation and dispersal has facilitated the global spread of everything from livestock and crop species to pets and certain bugs, at the expense of wildlife. Though humankind is in this article for the most part taken to be one entity, the author does in no way claim that all cultures are the same, or that we are destined to go on in the same way as we have started out. The word “we”, however, is empathised – as a prerequisite for a truly global awareness and sense of responsibility. What this article suggests, is simply that the global colonial organism we have established is the proper real-life framework for any discussion of the ecological performance of specific cultures and societies.

KeywordsBiosemiotics, Capitalism, Crop species, Global colonial organism, Global culture, Global species, Globalisation, Land use, Livestock, Pets

Global species revisited

The second last night (literally) I finished revising my article "The global species" for the journal New formations. Three pages were added, not least addressing global disparities.

The Global Species

I have just finished my journal article 'The Global Species', for New formations.

In this article I will attempt to demonstrate that the historical process of globalization - in the long term - can be outlined in terms of the expanding and eventually practically global range (occurrence) not only of our own species, but of several of our affiliated species as well.

Contents:
The Ecosemiotics of Globalisation
The Beginnings of Globalisation
The Ecology of Capitalism
The Politics of Biosemiotics