'The Nutmeg's Curse: Parables for a Planet in Crisis'
When:
Monday, Nov 28, 2022 4:00p -
5:00p
Monday, Nov 28, 2022 4:00p -
5:00p
Where:
Online event
Admission:
FREE
Categories:
History, Nature, University, Virtual
Event website:
https://umassboston.zoom.us/webinar/register/5816687202523/WN_2zsVAy4BTJG9tQrCtYLZKA
The fragrance of nutmeg fills many kitchens around the holidays. But this heavenly spice has a hidden hellish past. In his 2021 book The Nutmeg’s Curse: Parables for a Planet in Crisis, award-winning author Amitav Ghosh uses the haunting history of how nutmeg became a staple of the spice rack to reveal how colonialism and the commodification of the Earth’s resources has led us to the climatic tipping points and global crises we face today.
The Living on Earth Book Club, Sustainable Solutions Lab at UMass Boston, and UMass Boston School for the Environment proudly present a free, live conversation between Host Steve Curwood and The Nutmeg's Curse author Amitav Ghosh. Yale Professor of History Sunil Amrith, who studies environmental history and the history of migration, and Rebecca Herst, Director of the Sustainable Solutions Lab at UMass Boston, will give opening remarks.
The history of the nutmeg is one of conquest and exploitation—of both human life and the natural environment. In Ghosh’s hands, the story of the nutmeg becomes a parable for our environmental crisis, revealing the ways human history has always been entangled with earthly materials such as spices, tea, sugarcane, opium, and fossil fuels.
Writing against the backdrop of the global pandemic and the Black Lives Matter protests, Ghosh frames these historical stories in a way that connects our shared colonial histories with the deep inequality we see around us today. By interweaving discussions on everything from the global history of the oil trade to the migrant crisis and the animist spirituality of Indigenous communities around the world, The Nutmeg’s Curse offers a sharp critique of Western society and speaks to the profoundly remarkable ways in which human history is shaped by non-human forces.
Looking for a copy of the book? Consider purchasing through Living on Earth + Bookshop, which supports indie bookstores and nonprofits like LOE.
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