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Introduction: Critical Agrarian Studies in Theory and Practice
Author(s) -
Edelman Marc,
Wolford Wendy
Publication year - 2017
Publication title -
antipode
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.177
H-Index - 98
eISSN - 1467-8330
pISSN - 0066-4812
DOI - 10.1111/anti.12326
Subject(s) - agrarian society , humanity , politics , field (mathematics) , critical theory , refugee , environmental ethics , power (physics) , political science , sociology , political economy , social science , geography , agriculture , law , archaeology , physics , quantum mechanics , philosophy , mathematics , pure mathematics
In this introductory article we argue for renewed attention to life and labor on and of the land—or what we call the field of Critical Agrarian Studies. Empirically rich and theoretically rigorous studies of humanity's relationship to “soil” remain essential not just for historical analysis but for understanding urgent contemporary crises, including widespread food insecurity, climate change, the proliferation of environmental refugees, growing corporate power and threats to biodiversity. The article introduces an innovative and varied collection of works in Critical Agrarian Studies and also examines the intellectual and political history of this broader field.