What if the entangled and interwoven worlds we live in are fundamentally distinct?
In this thrilling and dynamic interview, Overthink production assistants Aaron and Emilio talk with Dr. Mario Blaser, Professor of Anthropology and Geography at Memorial University of Newfoundland. We discuss his anthropological monograph, Storytelilng Globalization from the Chaco and Beyond, and his current work theorizing the Pluriverse.
Dr. Blaser discuss the nature/culture divide, the rich concepts of pluriverse and of political ontology, and what it might mean to perform and enact a world. We discuss Bruno Latour, cosmopolitics, Caribou/Atiku hunting, and much more. The ideas Dr. Blaser develops transform our very assumptions about the universe, ontology, and the possibilities of political mobilization.
What is modernity? How does it interact and dominate other worlds? What's next for politics in a world with many worlds? What is the role of the intellectual and the academic? And what do duck-rabbits have to do with all of this?
"How do you return to philosophy?"
"The only way to do it is with others."
We're immensely grateful to Dr. Blaser for this interview, and for allowing us to explore his ideas and work through the Overthink platform. His interdisciplinary work opens new ways to think about philosophy and politics. Find more of his work on his academic site:
https://www.mun.ca/archaeology/people/faculty/mario-blaser/
Find his book with Duke University Press:
https://www.dukeupress.edu/Storytelling-Globalization-from-the-Chaco-and-Beyond/
Read his open access article, "Doing and Undoing Caribou/Atiku":
https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/25729861.2018.1501241
His co-edited book with Marisol de la Cadena, A World of Many Worlds, on these questions and more:
https://www.dukeupress.edu/a-world-of-many-worlds
Discover more philosophy mentioend by Dr. Blaser:
Brian Burkhardt, Indigenizing Philosophy Through the Land: https://philpapers.org/rec/BURIPT-2
Scott L. Pratt, Native Pragmatism: https://iupress.org/9780253215192/native-pragmatism/
Arturo Escobar, Pluriversal Politics: https://www.dukeupress.edu/pluriversal-politics
Marisol de la Cadena, Earth Beings: https://www.dukeupress.edu/earth-beings
This video is part of a new Overthink interview series, History and Memory in the Americas. Check out the full series on the Overthink channel:
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL2VCCjshTuUNzgye8QpdAn4IzTDd2GbPa
Support Overthink on Patreon!
https://www.patreon.com/overthinkpodcast
Website: overthinkpodcast.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Overthink-podcast-105420885026249
Apple podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/overthink/id1538249280?uo=4
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4aIlXHTDz5vrc78DyjFg66
Buzzsprout RSS: https://feeds.buzzsprout.com/1455199.rss
Find us on Instagram, Twitter, and TikTok at @overthink_pod