Power Shift: Keywords for a New Politics of Energy (Energy and Society)

Power Shift traces recent social and cultural shifts in how we understand and imagine energy, the environment, and the challenges of global warming. Across the globe, the need to transition to renewables has become the guiding reality of our energy present and future, despite continuing resistance to change. But what does this moment of energy transition look like for those struggling to make it happen in a way that benefits every individual and all communities?

Featuring brief essays on 101 key terms by scholars, artists, and activists from around the world and across disciplines, Power Shift offers an expansive, kaleidoscopic guide to the history of petromodernity, recent technological and social developments, and pathways to new energy futures. The book offers new insights into the emergent politics of energy, contrasting today’s environmental and climate movements with the geopolitical contests of the Cold War era. It explores the still unfolding story of energy transition by focusing on the ongoing struggles of communities and individuals against decisions made by corporations, governments, and international organizations.

Imre Szeman is director of the Institute for Environment, Conservation, and Sustainability and professor of human geography at the University of Toronto Scarborough. He is the author of books such as On Petrocultures: Globalization, Culture, and Energy and Futures of the Sun.

Jennifer Wenzel is professor in the department of English and comparative literature and the department of Middle Eastern, South Asian, and African studies at Columbia University. Her books include The Disposition of Nature: Environmental Crisis and World Literature and Bulletproof: Afterlives of Anti-colonial Prophecy in South Africa and Beyond.