A Theory of Earth and Climate Change

Learn about the kinetic ethics of an ecology of expenditure with Thomas Nail. These new materialist histories of plants, minerals, animals, and more unground a theory of earth. 

We need a new philosophy of the earth. Geological time used to refer to slow and gradual processes, but today we are watching land sink into the sea and forests transform into deserts. We can even see the creation of new geological strata made of plastic, chicken bones, and other waste that could remain in the fossil record for millennia or longer. Crafting a philosophy of geology that rewrites natural and human history from the broader perspective of movement, Thomas Nail provides a new materialist, kinetic ethics of the earth that speaks to this moment.

Thomas Nail is a Distinguished Scholar and Professor of Philosophy at the University of Denver and author of numerous books, including The Figure of the Migrant, Theory of the Border, Theory of the Earth, Marx in Motion, The Philosophy of Movement, Lucretius I, II, III, and Being and Motion. His research focuses on the philosophy of movement.

This is an event of the Spring 2026 Social Justice Academy: Environmental Justice. Learn more about the academy and RSVP for additional speakers, creative workshops, and action events by clicking here.

Visit Politics and Human Rights for more information about the major and minor. For more information, write to erinoconnor@mmm.edu.

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