Unearthing the Time/Space/Matter of Multispecies Justice.

Presented by Dr Christine Winter

Abstract: Multispecies justice is a developing field – or perhaps more accurately, set of fields. It draws together a range of academic fields to examine human and nonhuman relationships. These include relationships of respect, responsibility and, to some, reciprocity. The extent of those relationships and the range of species, forms and being to be included, however remains indistinct and variable. Whereas within traditional theories of justice, concern for other beings remains tied to the desire to enhance human experience, life opportunities, goods and virtues, the call to multispecies justice is motivated by the recognition that the nonhuman realm has intrinsic value and values. My argument here is that given the relative infancy of multispecies justice as a field of study in the western academy, there is an opportunity to ensure it examines not only how to avoid damaging domination of the nonhuman realm, but also the ongoing colonial domination of Indigenous epistemologies and ontologies. I am not suggesting an appropriation of Indigenous knowledge, but rather an exploration of ways in which the field may remain sufficiently nuanced and open to accommodate multiple epistemological and ontological framings of theory. In this paper I will draw from Mātauranga Māori to discuss an aspect of that decolonial project—why the scope of multispecies justice must cover all planetary being and all time. 

Presenters/short bio: Dr Christine Winter is a Post-Doctoral Research Fellow with the Sydney Environment Institute and Lecturer in the Department of Government and International Relations at the University of Sydney. Christine’s research focuses on intergenerational, indigenous, environmental and multispecies justice. She examines the incompatibilities between western and Māori philosophies and at ways in which theories of justice continue the colonial project.

Date: 11 November

Time: 1:15-2:30pm

Zoom link: https://uni-sydney.zoom.us/j/86908400524