The poetics of knowledge in the Anthropocene: Rancière and the politics of posthuman knowledge

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.

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Publication Details

Journal
Progress in Human Geography
Published
2026-01-14
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1177/03091325251413608
Primary Topic
Ecocriticism and Environmental Literature
Type
article
Field-Weighted Citation Impact
0.00
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article

The poetics of knowledge in the Anthropocene: Rancière and the politics of posthuman knowledge

Ben Bowsher
Progress in Human Geography
Ecocriticism and Environmental Literature
article

The poetics of knowledge in the Anthropocene: Rancière and the politics of posthuman knowledge

Ben Bowsher
article en

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.

Progress in Human Geography
Openalex Percentile: Top 89%
Ecocriticism and Environmental Literature
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