Dissertation Defence: Mammoths, Eco Zombies & Permafrost Extinction
March 16 at 9:00 am - 1:00 pm
Tara Lynn Nicholson, supervised by Professors Jodey Castricano & Samuel Roy-Bois, will defend their dissertation titled “Mammoths, Eco Zombies & Permafrost Extinction” in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Interdisciplinary Graduate Studies – Digital Arts and Humanities theme.
An abstract for Tara Lynn Nicholson’s dissertation is included below.
Examinations are open to all members of the campus community as well as the general public. This examination will be offered in hybrid format. Registration is not required to attend in person; however, please email jodey.castricano@ubc.ca to receive the Zoom link for the exam.
Abstract
Mammoths, Eco Zombies and Permafrost Extinction is an interdisciplinary research-creation thesis that considers the polar ecosystem, a fragile, interconnected network that is warming three-to-seven times faster than other landmasses on Earth (Langer et al.). From this perspective, the Arctic can be seen as a microcosm of planetary climate collapse, where the accelerating effects of climate breakdown are already impacting the lives of countless nonhuman animals, many of whom have gone extinct. Acknowledging that there is no singular solution to the overwhelming crisis of climate collapse, my dissertation is part of a call to dismantle siloed forms of knowledge, to steward forms of research that include storytelling, climate science, activism, art and Indigenous knowledge to embody a compassionate and radical reaction to climate breakdown. Positioned as an experimental exercise or as a form of cross-disciplinary fieldwork, my research-creation endeavours to bridge a gap between scientific studies and art being produced about the Arctic.
Expanding on the idea that the wicked problem of climate crisis cannot be solved without a radical shift that breaks the dualities between human and nonhuman lifeworlds, I hope to situate the viewer in such a way that breaks with hierarchical dualities by creating a place within some of these impacted landscapes of melting permafrost that have become the objective focus of Arctic study. I have produced photographs and installations, alongside autoethnographic responses and critical reflection, to foster relationships of responsibility to bring forth the care work of scientists and correlations between art and science.
My dissertation unpacks representations of climate-engineering that include de-extinction, Arctic rewilding, and the expansion of biobanks that are largely portrayed by popular media as proven forms of conservation. As a response, I employ the term “eco-zombies” to reference climate techno-fixes that are advertised as “quick-fix” solutions to climate collapse (Browning). By presenting the complex, messy and conflicting realities of the Arctic that involve layers of overlapping human and animal habitats, my project intends not only to convey the grief tied to what is already lost but also the anticipatory grief regarding further ecological collapse.
