Environmental journalism victim of ‘slow violence’

Visiting professor Rob Nixon hosts lecture, workshop on pressing issues

Environmental journalists face a dilemma—how to make headlines for an often-invisible issue. “If it’s bloodless, slow-motion violence, the story is more likely to get buried,” said Rob Nixon, author and English professor at the University of Wisconsin-
Madison. Nixon visits Portland State this week, presenting both a lecture and a workshop exploring this issue.

Visiting professor Rob Nixon hosts lecture, workshop on pressing issues

Environmental journalists face a dilemma—how to make headlines for an often-invisible issue. “If it’s bloodless, slow-motion violence, the story is more likely to get buried,” said Rob Nixon, author and English professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Nixon visits Portland State this week, presenting both a lecture and a workshop exploring this issue.

Nixon, who earned his doctorate from Columbia University, is originally from South Africa and is now the Rachel Carson professor of English at UW. He teaches courses in creative non-fiction and literature of the global south. Frequent contributor to The New York Times, his work has also appeared in The Village Voice, The Nation, The Guardian, Outside and many other publications. He is the author of four books, including Dream Birds, which was a featured reading on BBC radio.

The lecture on March 1 is open to the public. It will be held in Smith Memorial Student Union, room 333, at 7 p.m. During the event, Nixon will discuss his latest book, Slow Violence and the Environmentalism of the Poor, which was released last year by Harvard University Press.

Nixon’s workshop is Friday, March 2, from 10 a.m. to noon. It provides an opportunity to discuss challenges and solutions, both in environmentalism and journalism, with the author. The workshop will also look at a forthcoming article by Nixon, titled “Neoliberalism, Genre, and the Tragedy of the Commons.”

Both events are hosted by the Portland Center for Public Humanities, and registration is required for the workshop on Friday. This can be done by visiting www.publichumanities.pdx.edu, and those registered will receive a copy of the topical article.

According to PSU professor and PCPH Director Marie Lo, Thursday’s lecture will focus on “rethinking and re-conceptualizing how we talk about climate change.” In an era of media sound bytes and sensationalism, she asked, how do we “go beyond the conventional narrative and provide new paradigms for engaging with sustainability solutions?”

The crawling toxic spill, the thickening choking air, the slowly-receding glacier: How can these deep-seeded threats to the population at large ever compete for press coverage with explosions and the affairs of politicians? Slow Violence and the Environmentalism of the Poor explores this notion. Rob Nixon also looks in-depth at several writers and documentarians who have risen to this challenge. He focuses on environmental refugees of the Pacific Islands, environmental crises of the global south—access to food, water and energy—and the author activists tackling these issues.

Additionally, Slow Violence explores the works and successes of Wangari Maathai, Indra Sinha, Ken Saro-Wiwa and others. Nixon says “those nimble, determined writers” will “encourage us to rethink what environmental activism looks like.” By exploring their successes, and with the ability of other journalists to bring urgency to slowly encroaching disasters of climate change, Nixon hopes to teach other environmental writers the tools necessary to bring greater public light to these issues.

Climate change, the thawing cryosphere, toxic drift, deforestation, the radioactive aftermaths of wars, oil spills, and acidifying oceans are all examples of “slow violence” that Nixon explores in his works.

When asked about his use of the term “slow violence” in the title of his book, Nixon responded: “I felt that redefining violence was a critical first step. Our cultural moment is in thrall to speed and spectacle, which has the effect of distorting our perception of what counts as violence.”

Nixon’s upcoming projects include exploring populous movements and examining “what makes social movements work.” He is also working on a retrospective on Rachel Carson for the 50th anniversary of her book that birthed the environmental movement, Silent Spring. Nixon sites Carson as a lifelong inspiration and chose to honor her when choosing his title at the university. can be done by visiting the publichumanities.pdx.edu site. Those registered will receive a copy of the topical article.

According to PSU professor and PCPH Director Marie Lo, Thursday’s lecture will focus on “rethinking and re-conceptualizing how we talk about climate change.” In an era of media sound bytes and sensationalism, she asked, how do we “go beyond the conventional narrative and provide new paradigms for engaging with sustainability solutions?”

The crawling toxic spill, the thickening choking air, the slowly-receding glacier: How can these deep-seeded threats to the population at large ever compete for press coverage with explosions and the affairs of politicians? Slow Violence and the Environmentalism of the Poor explores this notion. Rob Nixon also looks in-depth at several writers and documentarians who have risen to this challenge. He focuses on environmental refugees of the Pacific Islands, environmental crises of the global south—
access to food, water and energy—and the author activists tackling these issues.

Additionally, Slow Violence explores the works and successes of Wangari Maathai, Indra Sinha, Ken Saro-Wiwa and others. Nixon says “those nimble, determined writers” will “encourage us to rethink what environmental activism looks like.” By exploring their successes, and with the ability of other journalists to bring urgency to slowly encroaching disasters of climate change, Nixon hopes to teach other environmental writers the tools necessary to bring greater public light to these issues.

Climate change, the thawing cryosphere, toxic drift, deforestation, the radioactive aftermaths of wars, oil spills, and acidifying oceans are all examples of “slow violence” that Nixon explores in his works.

When asked about his use of the term “slow violence” in the title of his book, Nixon responded: “I felt that redefining violence was a critical first step. Our cultural moment is in thrall to speed and spectacle, which has the effect of distorting our perception of what counts as violence.”

Nixon’s upcoming projects include exploring populous movements and examining “what makes social movements work.” He is also working on a retrospective on Rachel Carson for the 50th anniversary of her book that birthed the environmental movement, Silent Spring. Nixon sites Carson as a lifelong inspiration and chose to honor her when choosing his title at the university.