Multiple Temporalities and the Nonhuman Other

Abstract

In this article I pose a series of questions about the relationships between the temporal rhythms of late capitalism and the flourishing of those relational "onto-epistemologies" so celebrated by recent theorists of the ontological turn. Bringing together recent research in political and environmental anthropology influenced by the ontological turn and the temporal insights of Michel Serres, one of the most neglected forefathers of posthumanism in science and technology studies, I explore some of the political-economic transformations that are currently impeding recognition of these ontological multiplicities. By more explicitly theorizing the temporalities of these transformations as embodied in key conservationist and educational institutions, my argument is that we can simultaneously deepen our understanding of "worlds-otherwise" and work toward clarifying the institutional conditions that so strongly mitigate against the flourishing of those worlds.