About the book
In Plantation Life Tania Murray Li and Pujo Semedi examine the structure and governance of contemporary oil palm plantations in Indonesia, which supply 50 percent of the world's palm oil. They attend to the exploitative nature of plantation life, wherein villagers' well-being is sacrificed in the name of economic development. While plantations are often plagued by ruined ecologies, injury among workers, and a devastating loss of livelihoods for former landholders, small-scale independent farmers produce palm oil more efficiently and with far less damage to life and land.
Li and Semedi theorize “corporate occupation” to underscore how massive forms of capitalist production and control over the palm oil industry replicate colonial-style relations that undermine citizenship. In so doing, they question the assumption that corporations are necessary for rural development, contending that the dominance of plantations stems from a political system that privileges corporations.
Event details
The event will be held in Professorboligen, which is located behind the old university buildings on Karl Johans gate. It will be a hybrid event, and the authors will be virtually present.
(Very) light breakfast will be served.
In order to participate through zoom, send an email to aksel.tomte@nchr.uio.no to get the zoom link and meeting ID.