19/01/22: GOSSIP Seminar – Sean Field “Carbon Capital” (St Andrews)
Drawing on ethnographic fieldwork with energy financiers in Houston, Texas, I explore how experts use a lexicon of models and metrics to conceptualize and construct allegories about future hydrocarbon projects and companies. I show that allegorical narratives built with this lexicon advance a kind of energy ethics – distinguishing what is good and advocating for particular hydrocarbon futures. As the energy industry pivots toward renewables, I conclude that these metrics, models and allegories are coming to bear on new forms of extraction.
Join us at 3pm on Teams for this GOSSIP seminar.