This Must Be The Place: Beyond local/global binaries in ecocritical art history

A deep connection to specific localities continues to be a powerful source of identification and situated knowledge in our field. At the same time, the planetary scale of a globally interconnected ecosystem transcends the limit of the local and the jurisdiction of borders. The aim of this panel is to consider the challenges posed by the planetary scale to art history’s attachment to the specificity of the local, regional or national in the study of art, objects and cultural practices.

The complex category of ‘the place’ lies at the heart of this panel. Distinctive perspectives on the natural world, land and localised practices are currently articulated across many different traditions and epistemologies, including in Indigenous methodologies (Linda Tuhiwai Smith). Simultaneously, concepts like ‘planetary commons’ (Johan Rockström), ‘planetarity’ (Dipesh Chakrabarty) and ‘eco-cosmopolitanism’ (Ursula Heise) have emerged to oppose the abstraction of globalisation in capitalist and colonial projects. What can ecocritical approaches and methodologies in art history learn from, and contribute to, these debates?

Embracing an expanded understanding of ecocriticism, we expressly welcome contributions across the broadest range of subjects, periods, media and politics. This half-day session will feature an introduction from the convenors, followed by presentations. Participants may use the following prompts: What new art historical approaches reflect best the complexities of a globally connected ecosystem? How can we consider climatic, biological and topographic distinctions alongside categories of the national and the geopolitical? What examples can we share that refuse the binary of the planetary scale and the local?

Submit your Paper via this form. Please download, complete and send it directly to the Session Convenor(s) below by Sunday 2 November 2025:

Olga Smith, Newcastle University, olga.smith@ncl.ac.uk

Andrew Patrizio, University of Edinburgh, a.patrizio@ed.ac.uk