Image Courtesy of the Artist
Nona Inescu, Introvert (double), 2019, concretion Stone, chrome-plated steel, leather
Ecologies of Care is a monthly reading group convened by the Law and Environmental Humanities Network (LEHN) at the Institute of Advanced Legal Studies, University of London. Each month we are joined by an author to discuss a new or recent work on law, technology and ecology. These events are free and open to all. As the October session is online only, it is particularly convenient to join! All are welcome.
October Reading Group
Tuesday, 20 October, 15:00–17:00 (UK time) Online Event
‘The World Computer: Derivative Conditions of Racial Capitalism’ (Duke University Press, 2021) by Professor Jonathan Beller (Pratt Institute).
About the book: In The World Computer, Jonathan Beller develops a novel account of information and computation as expressions of capital. Built on oppression and genocide, capital and its technical result as computation manifest as racial formations, as do the machines and software of social mediation that feed racial capitalism and run on social difference. Algorithms, derived from for-profit management strategies, conscript all forms of expression into a calculus of capital such that even protest may turn a profit. Computational media function for the purpose of extraction rather than ameliorating global crises, and financialize every expressive act, converting each utterance into a wager. Repairing this ecology of exploitation, Beller contends, requires decolonizing information and money, and the scripting of futures wagered by the cultural legacies and claims of those in struggle.
For this session, we are delighted to be joined by Professor Jonathan Beller to discuss his book ‘The World Computer: Derivative Conditions of Racial Capitalism’. The session will open with a 20-minute introduction, by Professor Beller, to the book and his wider work, followed by open discussion and Q&A.
Register via Eventbrite: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/2002208845555?aff=oddtdtcreator
November Reading Group
Monday, 23 November 2026, 18:00-20:00 (In Person Event)
‘The Rulers: Corporate Power in the Age of AI and the Cloud’ (Verso Books, 2026)Cecilia Rikap, Assistant Professor in Economics and Head of Research, UCL Institute for Innovation and Public Purpose
Venue: IALS Conference Room, Institute of Advanced Legal Studies
17 Russel Square
London WC1B 5DR
About the book: Capitalism’s rulers are not abstract entities or shadowy operators. Amazon, Microsoft and Google are the cloud hegemons that subsume the world through the exercise of their intellectual monopolies. Giants like Disney, McDonalds, Nike or Walmart depend on them to use AI for knowledge and value extraction and for disciplining workers. States see some of their core functions sequestered. Innovation is not a free and neutral game, but a hierarchy topped by the rulers.
Rikap’s new theoretical framework is grounded in a unique trove of 112 interviews at the world’s largest firms and data on venture capital, acquisitions, open source, AI conferences and patents. They picture a map of the complexities and political implications of corporate power. In Rikap’s counterimage, technology is developed by the people and for the people and the planet through democratic planning.
Register via IALS website: https://ials.sas.ac.uk/law-humanities-hub/events/ecologies-care-reading-group-rulers-corporate-power-age-ai-cloud-cecilia-rikap
Also in November: LEHN at the Being Human Festival
Friday, 13 November 2006, 16:00-18:00 (in person)
Venue: IALS, Charles Clore House, 17 Russell Square, London
What happens when a chart changes how a planet feels? This participatory workshop sets out to update the charts, but to do so in a way that does not simply “extend the x-axis”, but, moreover, charts those affects as indicators of the influence of the charts on public perception of the very phenomena they trace.
The Great Acceleration charts – a collection of 24 curves showing GDP, CO₂, fertiliser use, deforestation and more shooting upward since 1950 – did more than record planetary change. They made it perceptible. And in doing so, they altered how we sense, feel and act on the world.
Dr. Alexander Damianos will be joined by Territorial Agency (John Palmesino and Ann-Sofi Rönnskog) and Dr Jochen Büttner of the Max Planck Institute of Geoanthropology.
No prior expertise needed. If you work in climate science, policy, communication, the arts, law, or simply live with these curves like the rest of us, your perspective is exactly what we’re after.
Booking required. Details and registration here: https://www.beinghumanfestival.org/events/updating-great-acceleration-charts-new-signals-a-changing-world
Supported by an AHRC Impact Stimulator Fund Award, and a Creative Europe S+T+ARTS Studiotopia Fellowship.
You can see more on the Network here: https://ials.sas.ac.uk/research/lhub/lhub-research-collaborations/law-environmental-humanities-network
The reading group and workshop is organized by,
Dr. Alexander Damianos, Lecturer, Kent Law School
Founder & Convenor of the Law & Environmental Humanities Network or the Institue for Advanced Legal Studies, University of London.
Featured Image: Nona Inescu, Introvert (double), 2019, concretion stone, chrome-plated steel, leather; Provided by the artist.
0 Comments