Hydrocolonialism

Co-presented with the Department of Art Practice, with support from the Haas Scholars Program.

Featuring Craig Cohen (UCSF), Patrick Owuor (York University), Sera Young (Northwestern University), Mina Girgis (UC Berkeley), Jessica Corman (Nebraska University), Greg Niemeyer (UC Berkeley), Xitlaly Olivera (UC Berkeley), Anaya Crouch (UC Berkeley), Rita Lucarelli (UC Berkeley), and Isabel Hofmeyr (NYU)

Water is the frontline of climate change, and competition for water resources increases in areas where water is already scarce. In Africa, several current major foreign water infrastructure development projects are displacing local residents and their water heritages in favor of planned cities, industrialized agriculture, and hydroelectric power stations for energy exports. Such developments repeat past colonial legacies and patterns of extraction ranging from Ancient Egypt to Manifest Destiny. If data is the frontline of human consciousness, then it follows that data about water would be a prime tool to measure and change water regimes to support water conservation and security both locally and globally.

Our one-day Hydrocolonialism symposium brings together scholars from several universities to discuss current research in this area.

It also serves as a disciplinary nexus connecting the fields of global health, biological anthropology, new media, data science, art practice, music, and hydrology to study the impact of global capital on local ecologies from technical, anthropological, and humanistic points of view. The purpose of this approach is to reach decision makers and affected parties with tools for more equitable and sustainable outcomes that balance resources and reduce displacement.