Inhuman Nature

Nigel Clark is Senior Lecturer in Human Geography at the Open University

Drawing on an impressive array of philosophical, social, and natural science sources Nigel Clark′s magnificent Inhuman Nature provides a compelling account of the respects in which modern ways of living are perpetually exposed to unpredictable natural processes and transformations and the manner in which communities have responded with care and hospitality to the desperate plight of othersBarry SmartProfessor of Sociology, Portmouth UniversityInhuman Nature: Sociable Life on a Dynamic Planet is a watershed for social theory. Nigel Clark’s engaging book brings together earth systems science, philosophy, and history to challenge the longstanding impasse created through the philosophical separation of humans from the world. This book does not simply ‘take nature into account’: fires, floods, volcanoes, climate change, and hurricanes take centre-stage in this thorough re-writing of the organic and inorganic. Inhuman Nature asks the most important questions of our time, and is a must-read for anyone who takes nature and our future on this planet seriouslyMyra HirdProfessor of Sociology, Queen’s University CanadaThis is possibly one of the most important books you are ever likely to read, particularly if you have been duped into thinking ‘nature’ and ‘planet earth’ are merely benevolent forces at the mercy of an insane, disordered humanity. According to Clark this just-so story illustrates our twin bad habits of focussing almost exclusively on human powers (exaggerating them wildly) and developing a blindness to the agency and powers of non-humans. This book reveals what the world is like when we come to our senses, literally. You wont look back (the view is better)Adrian FranklinProfessor of Sociology, University of Tasmania

• IntroductionThe Earth in Physical and Social ThoughtWays to Make a World: From Relational Materiality to Radical AsymmetryAfter the Tsunami: Vulnerability on a Volatile PlanetQuaking: The 1755 Lisbon Disaster and the Modern SubjectJustice and Abrupt Climate ChangeHurricane Katrina and the Origins of Community′Burning for the Other′: Colonial Encounters on a Planet of FireExtending Hospitality: Global Mobility and Journeys in Deep Time