Kairotic Inspiration
Imagining the Future in the Sixth Extinction
Format:Hardback
Publisher:University of Pittsburgh Press
Published:1st Nov '22
Should be back in stock very soon
Facing the Sixth Extinction, Kairotic Inspiration explores the interconnectedness of all beings and the transformative power of relationships in a changing world.
On the brink of the Sixth Extinction, humanity is confronted with dire ecological challenges that threaten not only the survival of countless species but also the potential for another mass extinction event akin to the one that eliminated the dinosaurs. In Kairotic Inspiration: Imagining the Future in the Sixth Extinction, Sarah Allen delves into the complexities of these crises, urging readers to recognize the interconnectedness of all beings within the ongoing processes of becoming. She posits that while change can be painful, it is also essential for growth and transformation.
Allen presents a compelling theory that redefines inspiration, moving away from the notion of individual genius to focus on the relationships between humans and nonhuman animals. This shift aims to inspire a deeper understanding of change, challenging the binary perspectives that often dominate discussions about difference. Drawing on Nietzsche’s idea of the Dionysian, she illustrates how the unmaking of the self through immersive experiences can lead to new modes of existence, echoing Donna Haraway's concept of “becoming-with.”
Ultimately, Kairotic Inspiration offers a vision of hope and possibility in an endangered world. Allen emphasizes that by nurturing kairotic connections, we can transform ourselves and embrace the changes that lie ahead. This book serves as a call to engage with the world around us, fostering a sense of responsibility and a commitment to the processes of becoming that define our existence.
Sarah Allen’s KairoticInspiration offers the helping hand we all need if we are going to develop ‘the habits of wonder’ required to confront the climate-change-precipitated Sixth Extinction. Allen does this by reframing the project of rhetoric to include active efforts to engage with the nonhuman world and its many inhabitants. In the process, she introduces the prospect of ‘becoming-with’ and ‘becoming in contradiction’ as ways to slip the confines of rigid binary thinking and initiate a transformation that allows us to connect with and be changed by a nonanthropocentric vision of the world. If you’re seeking inspiration in dark times, delivered by a serious thinker who writes beautifully, you’ll find that and more in this remarkable work.
-- Richard E. Miller, author of On the End of Privacy and Habits of the Creative MindThroughout my career as a writing teacher, I have told my students that one of my primary objectives is to make them uncomfortable. I explain that when one is comfortable with something, one generally does not change it. However, when uncomfortable, we are likely to change, to adjust. Sarah Allen’s Kairotic Inspiration: Imagining the Future in the Sixth Extinction asks us—writing teachers—to be uncomfortable with one of our fundamental pedagogical focuses: argumentation. She asks us to look to ecological approaches to critically question the ramifications of emphasizing argumentation in writing classes. Ultimately, she asks us to do something uncomfortable: she asks us to change. In doing so, Kairotic Inspiration not only expands writing studies’ ecological turn but in doing so may provoke one of the most relevant (and needed) changes in how we think about teaching writing.
-- Sidney I. Dobrin, University of FloISBN: 9780822947509
Dimensions: unknown
Weight: unknown
194 pages