Other worlds than these

“Go then, there are other worlds than these.” The line from The Dark Tower came back to me when I encountered an inspiring quote by Elizabeth Povinelli that also resonates with my research:

“But no world is actual one world. The feeling that one lives in the best condition of the world unveils the intuition that there is always more than one world in the world at any one time“ (Povinelli 2011, original emphasis).

There are grand narratives that make us feel as if the world has been fully deciphered: progress and development, sustainability, combating climate change, ensuring well-being. Yet it is easy to forget the side stories: local, place-based intimate histories and imaginaries, Indigenous knowledge and intergenerational exchange, marginalized communities, and hidden or unwanted more-than-human companions. These stories are less visible and less talked about, but they are still here – at any one time.

As an environmental anthropologist, I am trained to focus on the less visible worlds in my field research, but always feel I could emphasize them more in my writing and teaching. Povinelli’s collection of essays Routes/Worlds offers a valuable reminder.