The poetics of knowledge in the Anthropocene: Rancière and the politics of posthuman knowledge
Abstract
This paper responds to debates over the politics of knowledge in the Anthropocene, which often centres on affirmational and negative approaches to posthuman theory. In dialogue with post-foundational geography, the paper outlines a different critical direction that utilises Rancière’s conception of ‘the poetics of knowledge’. It argues that this approach centres the possibility-reconfiguring power of radical politics as an analytical vantage point to critically examine the kinds of spaces, actors, and practices that posthuman theories can support and sustain or contest and disrupt. Doing so offers a means of critical traversal that can reorient posthuman theory to radical political horizons.
Fields of Study & Subjects
Ecocriticism and Environmental Literature
Critical Theory and Political Philosophy
Posthumanist Ethics and Activism
Publication details
- Journal / source
- Progress in Human Geography
- Publisher
- SAGE Publications
- Volume
- 50
- Issue
- 4
- Pages
- 556–574
- Publication date
- 14 January 2026
- Language
- EN