Working Nature

Daniela Russ is a historical sociologist based at the Global and European Studies Institute of the University of Leipzig, Germany. Her research explores the history of the energy economy in a global perspective, the conflicts around the decarbonization of the electric grid, and the theory and practice of Soviet energy planning. Her work has been published by outlets such as Contemporary European History, Historical Materialism, and Stanford University Press.

What do we talk about when we talk about energy? We do so all the time, but rarely does anyone bother to open this black box that fuels everything. In Working Nature, Daniela Russ makes the most classical critical move - stripping something of its presumed naturalness - and demonstrates that 'energy' is a regiment imposed on nature through myriad acts over the past centuries. No lump of coal ever jumped into the capitalist furnace of its own volition. Nature has been dragged into the fire, and not without resistance. Consistently brilliant and illuminating, Working Nature announces the arrival of a major new voice on the scene of ecological Marxism.

• Introduction1. Does Energy Have History?2. Forces of Nature, Sources of Power3. The Value of Coal4. Electric Resistance5. Governing EnergyEpilogue: Energy and Emancipation