The Forest is Calling has reached its ninth and final discussion, this time with Lars Tønder who, in light of his book Magt in den antropocæne tidsalder – en introduktion, will be talking with human ecologist Line Thastum.
His book looks at power from an anthropocentric perspective and asks how the human view of power needs to be reshaped in order to take into account nature, the climate, and sustainability. Can art and culture help us understand the interplay between the human and the non-human?
Lars Tønder is a professor with special assignments at the Department of Political Science at the University of Copenhagen. His latest book is titled Om magt i den antropocæne tidsalder: en introduktion, which was published by DJØF Forlag in December 2020. He has previously published the book Tolerance: A Sensorial Orientation to Politics and in recent years has written a number of articles and book chapters on democracy, political theory, and the climate crisis. He is the head of two new research projects, both of which are supported by the Danish Council for Independent Research. One is about political norms in the Anthropocene era, and the other is about democracy, civil society, and Denmark’s new civic assembly for the climate. In addition, he is a member of the steering group for the Centre for Anthropological, Political and Social Theory, which is part of the University of Copenhagen’s Faculty of Social Sciences.
Line Thastum is a human ecologist, trained organic farmer, and alternative therapist. She is also a creative writer and poet and has been involved in art projects and publications. She is the co-founder, project manager, and environmental co-ordinator of the art organisation The Independent Air which focuses on the planet’s ecological crises and sustainable opportunities for the future. Both she and The Independent Air are co-founders of the interdisciplinary Nordic-Baltic State of the Art network, which works in the same field. Finally, she works as an environmental co-ordinator in the Municipality of Herning, specifically with environmentally sustainable solutions across disciplines.
