CFP: O-Zone: A Journal of Object-Oriented Studies

CFP: Forthcoming
Issue 1: Object/Ecology

O-Zone: A Journal of Object-Oriented Studies

Autumn 2012

Recent years have seen an explosion of interest in ecology in the humanities, sciences, and social sciences, with exciting new conceptual innovations and critically reflective returns to the work of earlier ecological studies. If ecological thought, in its most broad definition, investigates the interrelations and interactions of entities with one another, then the concept and domain of ecology can be expanded significantly, referring not simply to the natural world apart from social structures and configurations, but rather to relations between entities of any kind, regardless of whether they are natural, technological, social, or discursive. In short, culture and society are no longer thought of as something distinct from nature, but as one formation of nature among others. Increasingly, a sensibility has emerged that views as impossible the treatment of society and nature as distinct and separate domains, and instead sees the two as deeply enmeshed with one another. Similarly, ecological and posthumanist developments have increasingly come to intersect with one another, jointly conceptualizing humans not as sovereign makers of all other tools, beings and meanings, but as beings (or objects) among other beings (and objects)—animate and inanimate, human and nonhuman—entwined together in a variety of complex contingencies.

The inaugural issue of O-Zone: A Journal of Object-Oriented Studies seeks to expand current ecological dialogues and open new trajectories for ecological engagement vis-à-vis the world of objects, or even world(s)-as-object(s). Authors are invited to contribute SHORT meditations, thought experiments, riffs, ruminations, rants, broadsides, etc. — of approximately 2,000 to 3,000 words — on any object-oriented ecological turn or (re)turn percolating through their current work, OR, on any aspect of the relationship (or non- or frictional relationship) between the two terms. Artworks are also encouraged. Authors might consider the following questions when composing their contributions:

How do the post-correlationist, post-Kantian, realist, and materialist turns transform our understanding of the systems, operations, objects, and/or ontology of ecology?

What is an ecological politics, and what might certain political considerations bring to object-oriented and new materialist trends of ecological thinking? Conversely, how might an intensive focus on the singularity and autonomy of objects revise our conceptions of political domains?

Object-oriented theorists have proposed a number of new critical modes to expand ecological inquiry, like dark and black ecology. In what ways do these new approaches challenge the traditionally “green” orientations of ecological investigation? Further, what other new modes of ecological thought might we propose now, beyond green?

Ecology has traditionally been defined as the study of systems of inter-dependent relations, often with respect to natural environments. How might certain strains of object-oriented thought that take as a given the withdrawn nature and independent reality of objects give rise to new ecological thinking? Further, what would it mean to think the non- or para-“natural world” ecologically, such as new media, machinic and other technologies, artificial life, bioinformatics, cloning, and the like?

What is the relationship between posthumanism and ecology? Can there be a post-ecology, and how might that relate to the “life” of objects?

What might be some of the productive tensions, inter-relations, attractions, oppositions, alliances, dialectics, etc. between the two terms, “object” and “ecology”?
What would it mean to retrieve earlier ecological and materialist voices, especially from feminist, gender, and queer studies, and what might these voices contribute to object-oriented and new materialist modes of thought?

These questions are only suggestions for possible meditations. Authors are also invited to develop their own topics.

Confirmed contributors to the inaugural issue include: Stacy Alaimo, Jeff Bell, Ian Bogost, Pearl Brilmyer, Andy Clark, Jon Cogburn, Jeffrey Jerome Cohen, Steven Connor, Drew Daniel, Freek de Haan, Rick Dolphin, Lowell Duckert, Sarah Franklin, Bishnupriya Ghosh, Myra J. Hird + Nigel Clark, Joe Hughes, Tim Ingold, Adrian Ivakhiv, Robert Jackson, Ed Keller, Shannon Mattern, Freya Matthews, Dan Mellamphy, Steve Mentz, Timothy Morton, Vin Nardizzi, Michael O’Rourke + Christina McPhee, Henk Oosterling, Jussi Parikka, Aaron Pdnotti, Marina Peterson, Dominic Pettman, John Protevi, Alex Reid, Kate Rigby, Adam Roberts, Kim Stanley Robinson, Cate Sandilands, Crispin Sartwell, Steven Shaviro, Tom Sparrow, Florian Sprenger, Lindsay Thomas, Jeremy Trombley, Yoni van den Eede, Sarah Whatmore, Margaret Inga Wiatrowski, Cary Wolfe, and Joanna Zylinska.

For its inaugural issue, O-Zone: A Journal of Object-Oriented Studies will also consider submissions on topics unrelated to ecology, but still within the orbit of object-oriented studies. These contributions might take the form of short essays, longer articles (of no more than 10,000 words), or digital media. In addition, we are accepting reviews of recently published works on object-oriented and new materialism subjects. Queries about the relevance of a given topic or potential review are welcome.

Deadline for submissions is August 1 – September 15, 2012. We will accept submissions at any time from May through September 15th, but the dates above sketch out the absolute last period of review for the inaugural issue. Please send all submissions and queries to editors.ozone@gmail.com.