HASTAC 2023 Conference

In this project, I speculate about a possible scenario where a parliament chair for more-than-humans to ‘speak up’ exists within a human fabricated democratic construct. In the narrative, we are to notice the grammar of the other animates than us humans; learning/relearning the ethic of respect and interdependency by ‘listening' to our often ‘quiet’ neighbors on this planet. It does so by inviting audience to rehearse a speculative scenario where ‘voices’ of a relevant non-human stakeholder would be elected and played out through a designed chair during debates inside the Swedish parliament. The ‘chair’ asks us to re-exam our hegemonic constitution against other-than-humans who are underrepresented in the national legislature and the supreme decision-making body of Sweden. The project proposes a ‘What if’ scene where voices of variant beings, not just humans, can be noticed, heard, and hopefully reflected upon when far-reaching national decisions are being made. The purpose of this speculation is to encourage a more expansive relational mode of existence by challenging our obstinate preconceptions and, like Prof Gibson, Rose and Fincher promoted in their Manifesto for Living in the Anthropocene, by encouraging our ability to ‘listen to the world’ (2015).

This online session will start with a verbal + visual presentation of the project (around 25min), including 2 short films (2min & 5min) and follow by a Q&A for further discussions.

Gibson, K., Rose, D. and Fincher, R., 2015. Manifesto for Living in the Anthropocene. 1st ed. Brooklyn, NY: punctum books.