Introduction to Geography and the Plantationocene

Abstract

The concept of the Plantationocene has received increasing interest in recent years across a variety of academic fields. This article introduces a forum in which seven scholars debate the relevance of the concept for their own work. This introduction outlines the contributions of the concept for the field of geography.

Key Words:

• extraction
• plantation
• Plantationocene
• racial violence

Acknowledgments

The author would like to thank two anonymous reviewers for their insightful and challenging comments. She would like to thank Katie Meehan for her supportive guidance and Jennifer Cassidento for her patience and kindness.

Disclosure Statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.

Notes

1 At the same time, some research in India suggests that larger plantations generate more tree cover for bird habitat although they require toxic chemical inputs that might endanger the long-term health of those species (Robbins et al. 2021).

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Wendy Wolford

WENDY WOLFORD is the Robert A. and Ruth E. Polson Professor in the Department of Global Development at Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14850. E-mail: [email protected]. Her research interests include land use and distribution, social mobilization, and geographies of development, with particular emphasis on Brazil and Mozambique.