This special issue of the Cambridge Journal of Anthropology entitled ‘Capture, Autonomy, Dependence: Theorising Global Energy Futures from Africa’ is guest edited by Michael Degani, Brenda Chalfin and Jamie Cross.
As one of the most humane and sensitive social sciences, anthropology should be well-positioned to provide productive and insightful perspectives on pressing issues facing the contemporary world. However, the discipline has often struggled to present its data and ideas in a manner that is helpful to a wide audience. This volume responds to arguably the greatest existential threat of our time, by asking how human societies might reconfigure the way that they produce and use energy. The articles in this collection ask fundamental questions such as where energy comes from, how people understand and consume it, and what types of real social struggles and inequalities are involved in those processes.
The special issue is made up of an introduction by the Guest Editors, and articles by Kristin Doughty, Omolade Adunbi, Erin Dean, Kristin D. Phillips, Brenda Chalfin, Jamie Cross and Michael Degani. The issue ends with Ben Belek's review of Janet Carsten's Blood Work.
I hope that you find the issue interesting.
Andrew Sanchez