Forces of Reproduction

by Stefania Barca

The concept of Anthropocene has been incorporated within a hegemonic narrative that represents 'Man' as the dominant geological force of our epoch, emphasizing the destruction and salvation power of industrial technologies. This Element develops a counter-hegemonic narrative based on the perspective of earthcare labour – or the 'forces of reproduction'. It brings to the fore the historical agency of reproductive and subsistence workers as those subjects that, through both daily practices and organized political action, take care of the biophysical conditions for human reproduction, thus keeping the world alive. Adopting a narrative justice approach, and placing feminist political ecology right at the core of its critique of the Anthropocene storyline, this Element offers a novel and timely contribution to the environmental humanities.

Genres: Feminism, Sociology, Ecology, Politics, Nonfiction, Theory

88 pages, Paperback

Published November 26, 2020

About the author

STEFANIA BARCA é investigadora doutorada do CES, onde coordena a equipa do projecto FP7 Marie Curie ITN 'Entitle'. Obteve o seu Doutoramento em História Económica pela Universidade de Bari (Itália) em 1997; possui agregação como professora associada em História Contemporânea e em História Económica pelo Ministério da Educação, Universidade e Investigação (MIUR) na Itália, e lecciona cursos sobre a crise ecológica nos programas de doutoramento do CES/UC. Em 2005-06 foi investigadora visitante no âmbito do Programa de Estudos Agrários da Universidade de Yale, e de 2006 a 2008 foi pós-doutoranda 'Ciriacy Wantrup' na Universidade de California em Berkeley. As suas publicações incluem uma série de artigos em revistas italianas e internacionais, e três livros. O seu livro Enclosing Water. Nature and Political Economy in a Mediterranean Valley (Cambridge, UK: White Horse Press 2010) recebeu o prémio Turku Prize como melhor monografia em história ambiental européia.
Foi vice-presidente do conselho científico do CES, co-diretora do programa de doutoramento em 'Democracia no século 21' (2012-15) e co-coordenadora do núcleo 'Políticas sociais, trabalho e desigualdades' (2010-14). Foi vice-presidente da Sociedade Europeia de História Ambiental (ESEH) entre 2011 e 2013; actualmente integra o comité editorial da revista Environmental History (Oxford UP) e o Steering Committee do projecto 'Entitle'.
Os seus interesses de investigação abrangem a história ambiental e a ecologia política, com enfoque na relação entre trabalho e ambiente em perspectiva transnacional.

Reviews

[Donatella Gasparro · Rating 4 out of 5]

In Forces of Reproduction Stefania Barca effectively condenses discourses on the four ‘colonies’ of capital, or the main four Others to the ‘master’: women, racialised/black/indigenous people, the working class and the non-human world. The compendium makes use of mostly materialist ecofeminist thought to criticize the Antropocene as a 'master' narrative of ‘eco-capitalist realism’ that makes no space for the ‘forces of reproduction’, i.e. those subjects who produce and sustain life, without whom no industrial/capitalist 'production’ would be possible. The 'narrative justice' focus definitely made me recall the wonderful essay “The carrier bag theory of fiction” by Ursula Le Guin, quite strangely not mentioned by Barca, yet a fundamental feminist manifesto against all masculine hero-centric single-stories.

The book is a fantastic, readable and compact introduction to materialist ecological feminist thought and to contemporary critics of capitalism in general. This said, I struggle to put my finger on what exactly is Barca’s original contribution here. Besides the well-done compendium and a bland addition of nuance to the critiques of the Anthropocene concept, there’s not much added to academic debates on these topics. Moreover, besides listing and explaining the various currents of thought and authors, I was disappointed in finding basically no integration, no specification of complementarities or disagreements among thinkers, no mention of the role of each individual contribution to the bigger picture.

The book nonetheless makes for a go-to pamphlet when it comes to keeping at hand key materialist ecofeminist contributions, but do not expect any breakthrough nor ideas never told anywhere else.

[Sergey Steblyov · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good for overview (and an attempt at synthesis) of critiques of the mainstream Anthropocene narrative

[Kai · Rating 5 out of 5]

On the one hand, Barca's book is more of an overview/lit review than a super-unique intervention into Anthropocene debates. at times it does face some of the same problems as social-reproduction theory (SRT feminism) as posing a bit of an easy way out via care labor. On the other hand, it is so comprehensive in its overview of marxist-feminism and ecology, so biting in its analysis, so expansive yet clear and well-written that i feel i'll be returning to this short pamphlet frequently. it's a go-to for when the pol theory guys say something like "there isn't any new marxist-feminism anymore" or sthg. highly highly recommended.

[Natasha · Rating 4 out of 5]

A brief overview of key materialist ecofeminist themes, centered around social reproduction, that work against the "eco-capitalist realism" characterizing the global hegemonic "master narrative" of the Anthropocene. Barca weaves together a wide variety of authors, disciplines, and concepts to illustrate the importance of the "forces of reproduction": the care work and "life-making" done by capitalism's Others ("racialized, feminized, dispossessed") so often ignored by past and present (political) economic thinkers. Critical to "undoing" the master narrative of the Anthropocene through the forces of reproduction are the untangling of existing colonial/race, gender, class, and species relations in order to pursue radically intersectional "systems change" that overcomes capitalisms's divisions and hierarchization of difference.

While I deeply appreciated Barca's attention to social reproduction, I was surprised that she did not more critically examine the concept of modernity, an idea so often wrapped up in Western understandings of linear history/time/progress (I am thinking a bit about Anna Tsing's The Mushroom at the End of the World: On the Possibility of Life in Capitalist Ruins here, knowing there are many others that also make this critique). For so many references to Audre Lorde ("the master's tools will never dismantle the master's house"), I would also have loved to see more poetry/art/explicit expressions of creativity and love (the one poet she drew on was lovely!). However, this may be an unfair critique given the limited length of the book.

I think I'd recommend Federici's Caliban and the Witch before this book - Federici's work is so foundational in feminist Marxism, not to mention utterly brilliant - but Barca's book is a decent overview that specifically hones in on the Anthropocene and its hegemonic construction.

[Sev · Rating 4 out of 5]

While I think labour time reduction rather than a care income is the crucial issue to advocate for in relation to a new organisation of production and reproduction (the gendered division of labour), Barca's discussion of the "forces of reproduction" is an interesting addition to feminist political ecology influenced by Marxism.

[KT · Rating 4 out of 5]

An excellent and concise eco-feminist critique of the political economy of the Anthropocene, which is rejected, as in doing so, the idea that the end of history and thus no further resistance is also rejected. Instead counter to this is the ongoing struggle consisting of the forces of reproduction, as represented in labour, especially reproductive labour - the work of sustaining life in its material and immaterial needs.

The Anthropocene's central narrative that uncritically incorporates or is indifferent to racism is criticised for failing to recognise that racism was foundational to capitalist/Industrial modernity. Undoing the coloniality of this narrative requires looking at the climate and ecological crisis from a decolonial perspective that takes as its entry point into the age of climate change the Indigenous genocide and slavery necessary for primitive capital accumulation, rather than the Anthropocene's entry point of the industrial revolution

[Grace Mendolia · Rating 3 out of 5]

for class
learned what "qua" means

[Miranda Willis · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a powerful book that reorients how you see work, care, and ecological struggles. It shows that reproduction sits at the very centre of the labour that sustains life, landscapes and futures. I loved how it insistently and patiently connected the climate crisis to care, gender and class without losing hope.
Reproduction sounds quite radical after reading this book. It definitely will stay with me.

[Gizem Kendik Önduygu · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sence bu yılın kelimesi ne diye sorsalar “earthcare” derim. “YERYÜZÜ BAKIMI”. Çok hoşuma gidiyooor.

Aslında cinsiyet çalışmalarının son dönemde öne çıkardığı bakım emeğinin çerçevesini genişletiyor, içerisine gezegende yaşayan tüm canlıları (hatta cansız varlıkları) alıyor. Bakımı sadece yakınlarımızla, yaşlılarla, mültecilerle, tanımadıklarımızla, yani insanlarla kısıtlamıyor bu defa diğer türlerle keskin sınırlar çizmekten kaçınarak, insan dışı doğa ile yeni bir sevgi ve bakım ilişkisi kurmaya çalışıyor. Bakım denince akıllara gelen insan-insan ilişkisini kırıp yeryüzündeki insandışı doğayla yeni bir bağ tanımlamaya çalışıyor. Bu sayede bakım çalışmalarının içerisine yerli halkların yönettiği doğa koruma projeleri, geçim tarımı, kadınların üreme otonomisi, sendikaların çevre mücadeleleri, komünite bahçeciliği ve ağaçlandırma projeleri, agroekoloji, permakültür gibi birçok pratiği dahil ediyor.

Stefania Barca’nın kitabı hem degrowth dünyasına bakmak isteyenler hem de benim gibi ekofeminizme mesafeli yaklaşanlar ve ekofeminizmin cinsiyet rolleri çıkmazından kaçmak isteyenler için ideal. Kitap şu an bireysel satışa açık değil ancak ilgilisi olursa gender dersi için bu kitabın savlarını içeren Türkçe bir makale yazmıştım. Mesaj atarsanız onu gönderirim.

[Michela nonostante · Rating 5 out of 5]

Un testo necessario per comprendere l’evoluzione dell’ecologia politica femminista e il concetto di forze di riproduzione all’interno del sistema, validarle e valorizzarle.
Un lavoro femminista supportato da una generosa bibliografia.

[Donatella Gasparro · Rating 5 out of 5]

Per una review estesa: https://quadernidelladecrescita.it/20...