About this Event
Photo Credit - Isiah Winters
IAS Residential Fellows Professor Tim Parsons & Ms Jessica Charlesworth delivers a seminar on their research, fully titled "Multispecies Inc. Reimagining More-Than-Human Relationships Through Climate Fiction and Speculative Design" -
In the face of unprecedented environmental challenges, reimagining human-nature relationships has become imperative. Through an analysis of Multispecies Inc., a climate fiction research project by Parsons & Charlesworth, the seminar will demonstrate how creative practices can envision alternative futures where human and more-than-human entities coexist in harmony.
Situated at the intersection of art, design, and environmental activism, the project poses critical questions: How can speculative design approaches challenge anthropocentric hierarchies? and, What frameworks can facilitate meaningful multispecies engagement beyond exploitation?
Through a methodology combining narrative storytelling and design prototyping, Multispecies Inc. creates artifacts that "make-kin" with other species—including interactive experiences, sculptures, and illustrated narratives.
These works deliberately confront audiences with moral dilemmas about our contradictory desires to both connect with and control nature. Findings reveal how speculative fiction can serve as an effective vehicle for critical worldmaking, creating what Donna Haraway calls "playful propositions" that expand environmental discourse beyond technological solutionism.
Arrivals from 11:45 am for a 12:00 noon start. For those joining in-person, lunch will be served after the seminar from 1:00pm.
International House can be found here on the campus map.
If these in-person tickets have sold out, you can still join online by registering for the online webinar.
Event venue & nearby stays
International House, Loughborough University, Epinal Way, Loughborough, United Kingdom
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