This special seminar is a conversation with Professor Danielle Celermajer, author of Summertime: Reflections on a Vanishing Future (Penguin, 2021).

This remarkable book was written in the shadow of the 2019-20 bushfires. In the midst of catastrophic loss, Celermajer asks us to sit with the grief and meaning of the death of animals, humans, trees and ecologies. Her prose draw us into the climate changing present and asks us to reckon with responsibility in crisis. Celermajer uses narrative to theorise the “killing of everything” or “omnicide”. And more importantly, Summertime provides inspiration to come together and reflect on the stories we need to engage and inspire us to act.

The event will begin with morning tea at 10 in the RSSS building foyer. At 10.30am, Professor Mark Howden will open the event.

The conversation with Professor Celermajer will be chaired by Professor Celia Roberts, with contributions from a book reading group.

The event is hosted by ANU School of Sociology and the Institute for Climate, Energy & Disaster Solutions.

Event contact: Beck Pearse, rebecca.pearse@anu.edu.au

About the author

Danielle Celermajer is a Professor of Sociology and Social Policy at the University of Sydney, and Deputy Director – Academic of the Sydney Environment Institute. Her books include Sins of the Nation and the Ritual of Apology (Cambridge University Press 2009), A Cultural Theory of Law in the Modern Age (Bloomsbury, 2018), and The Prevention of Torture: An Ecological Approach (Cambridge University Press, 2018). Dany is Director of the Multispecies Justice Project and the Research Lead on Concepts and Practices of Multispecies Justice.

Photo credit: Nolan Di Meo on Unsplash