Published In
Social Dynamics
Document Type
Post-Print
Publication Date
3-14-2018
Subjects
Gardening in literature, J. M. Coetzee (1940- ), Life and times of Michael K -- Criticism and interpretation, Ecology, Place (Philosophy) -- Social aspects -- South Africa
Abstract
In this essay, I argue for “fugitive gardening” as a form of “poaching” or “resignifying,” a radical appropriation of hegemonic spaces and practices that both deconstructs the logics of mastery and hygienic possessiveness that underpin colonial culture, and articulates what we might call a fugitive ecology: a dispossession of self in relation to the environment, a refusal to conceive of land, soil or planet in terms of property. Fugitive gardening sets itself in opposition to the prisons, camps and forts that index South African political history, restorying place, environment, and the self as grounds for community formation, dialogue and cooperation. Through readings of Coetzee’s Life & Times of Michael K and other examples of literary and material gardening, I show how such cultivation represents a gesture of belonging in a context where such claims are revolutionary, even treasonous; but unlike farm, fort or prison, fugitive gardening stakes a claim to belonging without possession, home without property and ecological care without an investment in the future. As such, gardening entails a very different understanding of self in relation to place, to nature and to future generations, and a reconceptualisation of narrative and language as representational modes.
Rights
© 2018 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group
Locate the Document
DOI
10.1080/02533952.2018.1430476
Persistent Identifier
https://archives.pdx.edu/ds/psu/25966
Citation Details
Published as: Lincoln, S. L. (2018). Notes from underground: fugitive ecology and the ethics of place. Social Dynamics, 44(1), 128-145.
Included in
Other English Language and Literature Commons, Race, Ethnicity and Post-Colonial Studies Commons
Description
This is the author’s version of a work that was accepted for publication in Social Dynamics . Changes resulting from the publishing process, such as peer review, editing, corrections, structural formatting, and other quality control mechanisms may not be reflected in this document. Changes may have been made to this work since it was submitted for publication. A definitive version was subsequently published in Social Dynamics, 44(1), 128-145.