R. K. Sony and Siddhartha K

Geoforum |  March 10, 2023

Recent works in political ecology draw attention to affective ecologies that focus on lived experiences and fluid/relational subjectivities. The attention to affect and materiality grounded in vitalist ontology helps imagine new sociological futures and re-envision humanistic notions of agency. In this paper, we build on affective ecology and emotional political ecology literature to demonstrate how people’s subjectivity is transformed through their lived experience of polluted waterscapes, memories of emotional and material engagement with their immediate nature, and affective labor practices to protect their rivers from pollution. Through sociological research conducted around two environmental protests in Kerala, we provide insights into local communities’ engagement with the changed riverscape.