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 future projections, nor merely case studies of existing efforts, AOS 3 interrogates the uncertain space between the present and the future. AOS 3 brings together an evolving collective of critical humanities researchers from around the world to draw lessons from present practices, imagine modes and methods of transition in relation to the limits and possibilities of political configurations, and more.
The AOS 3 Collective first convened at the Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity in October 2022 to share ideas about the status of energy transition and critical academic practice, and to create a podcast series, Volatile Trajectories. The group returned to Banff in February 2023 for more discussion, mapping, and planning, and hopes to meet again in Fall 2023 to collectively produce a provocative intervention into present debates about energy and social transitions. We also plan to document and publish our collective writing praxis for others to explore our thinking and collaborative processes. Stayed tuned, and check out our blog, energyhumanities.ca, and the AOS3 website for more info and updates as the project develops.