Projects

As part of its mandate to create and support new energy humanities research, Petrocultures has sponsored many conferences, workshops, and other initiatives since 2011. From the biennial Petrocultures conference to the After Oil Schools, our projects are shaping conversations about energy and society. This page lists upcoming initiatives and archives past projects.

Techno-Utopianism

Techno-Utopianism is a collaborative digital media project about the promises and pitfalls of techno-utopian thinking and action. We have already produced a podcast series, in collaboration with…

After Oil School 3: Next

After Oil School 3: Next (AOS 3) is a two-year, iterative project designed to critically assess the present status and future prospects for energy transitions. Neither speculative…

Energy Humanities

Launched in 2020, Energy Humanities is an online hub for new ideas about energy, politics, and culture. The site features commentary on current events, book notices, original…

Petrocultures 2022: Transformations

The biennial Petrocultures conference, twice postponed due to COVID-19, took place August 24-27, 2022 in Stavanger, Norway. Click here for the final conference program. Keynote speakers: Thursday,…

Energy In/Out of Place

Energy In/Out of Place was a virtual research-creation workshop organized by Anne Pasek, Emily Roehl, and Caleb Wellum in 2020. It’s goal was to explore the ways…

After Oil School 2: Solarity (2019)

Solarity: After Oil School 2 was organized by the Petrocultures Research Group and the Grierson Chair in Communication Studies. A follow-up to the successful After Oil School…

Just Powers

Just Powers is an interdisciplinary and community-engaged network of research projects focused on climate justice issues. Just Powers and its researchers aim to imagine and create socially-just…

Petrocultures 2018: Transitions

The 2016 Paris Climate Agreement heralded unprecedented international consensus on the need to transition from fossil fuels within the next few decades. The uneven responses from state,…

Petrocultures 2016: The Offshore

Approximately a third of all oil and gas production takes place offshore, and this proportion is continually increasing as companies push into ever deeper and more remote…

After Oil School (2015)

The first After Oil School (AOS) brought together experts in energy humanities from the University of Alberta and around the world to explore, critically and creatively, the…