Dear colleagues,

This email is a reminder that the second edition of the Vital Elements Seminar Series will be in a hybrid format. This time with Pierre du Plessis. In his talk “From Shadow Ecologies to Infrastructural Cascades: The emergence of a beef reserve and its ecological effects”, Pierre explores the social-historical emergence of Botswana as a beef reserve that feeds Europe and the resultant ecological effects that continue to ripple across Kalahari Desert landscapes.

The event will occur in the University of Amsterdam, Roesterseiland Campus, REC B, Anthropology Common Room (B5.12). The event is on 24 February 2025, 15.00-17.00 (CET).

For those unable to attend the event in Amsterdam, please use the link here to connect through Zoom (https://uva-live.zoom.us/j/83333263586).

For more details, see attached flyer.

Warm regards,

The Vital Elements Team.

From: Kyana Dipananda <r.dipananda@uva.nl>
Date: Monday, 27 January 2025 at 11:13
To: vitalelements@list.uva.nl <vitalelements@list.uva.nl>
Subject: [Vitalelements] [Vital Elements Seminar Series] Geographies of Beef: Shadow Ecologies of European Green in African Landscapes

Dear all,

Please save the date for the second edition of Vital Elements Seminar Series. 

As you might remember, the first of the series was held in Sousse, Tunisia. This second edition is to take place in Amsterdam.

We are excited that environmental anthropologist Pierre Louis du Plessis (Aarhus University) will be our speaker. He will present on his project Geographies of Beef: Shadow Ecologies of European Green in African Landscapes. And we are equally excited that our UvA colleague Else Vogel, will act as the discussant to Pierre’s talk.

We will circulate more details on Pierre’s talk soon, including the Zoom link for hybrid meeting options.

The Vital Elements Seminar Series is part of the ERC-Advanced research project Vital Elements. The series addresses global challenges such as migration, environmental crises, and colonial relations by exploring vital materialities like water, seeds, phosphate, salt and oil that are essential for life or can spur death in their absence.

Date: February 24, 2025
Location: UvA REC, Anthropology Common Room (B5.12)
Time: 15.00-17.00

Warm regards,

The Vital Elements Team.