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The Mushroom at the End of the World

October 31, 2023

The Mushroom at the End of the World: On the Possibility of Life in Capitalist Ruins is a 2015 book by the Chinese American anthropologist Anna Lowenhaupt Tsing. The book describes and analyzes the globalized commodity chains of matsutake mushrooms.

The Mushroom at the End of the World
AuthorAnna Tsing
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
SubjectCapitalism, Commodity chain, Matsutake, Anthropocene
GenreAnthropology
Published2015
PublisherPrinceton University Press
Media typePrint
Pages352
ISBN9781400873548

Content edit

The Mushroom at the End of the World uses the matsutake as a focal point for exploring what Tsing describes as the end of capitalist progress as ecological degradation and economic precarity proliferate in the twenty-first century.[1] The matsutake is considered a delicacy and is a mushroom that thrives in human-disturbed forests, foraged by humans in locales as diverse as Oregon, Yunnan, and Lapland.[2] In the book, Tsing follows foragers as they search for mushrooms, the traders who buy and sell them, and the Japanese consumers who especially prize them, largely as gifts.[2]

Tsing highlights both the resilience of the matsutake, which humans have found cannot be domesticated, and the entanglements between and co-dependency of different species—or multi-species "assemblages"—in not only surviving precarious and disturbed environments, but in creating new environments. On such assemblages, Tsing writes:[3]

…one could say that pines, matsutake, and humans all cultivate each other unintentionally. They make each other’s world-making projects possible. This idiom has allowed me to consider how landscapes more generally are products of unintentional design, that is, the overlapping world-making activities of many agents, human and not human. The design is clear in the landscape’s ecosystem. But none of the agents have planned this effect. Humans join others in making land-scapes of unintentional design. As sites for more-than-human dramas, landscapes are radical tools for decentering human hubris. Landscapes are not backdrops for historical action: they are themselves active. Watching landscapes in formation shows humans joining other living beings in shaping worlds.

The author draws on these themes not only to critique capitalism, but also to refute the notion of the utility of a single, "unitary critique" of capitalism, arguing instead for the importance of diverse and contingent responses.[4] Tsing writes that "[t]o understand capitalism (and not just its alternatives)… we can’t stay inside the logics of capitalists; we need an ethnographic eye to see the economic diversity through which accumulation is possible."[5]

Awards and recognition edit

The Mushroom at the End of the World has won numerous awards including the 2016 Victor Turner Prize in Ethnographic Writing from the Society for Humanistic Anthropology and the 2016 Gregory Bateson Book Prize from the Society for Cultural Anthropology.[6][7] The book was also named a Kirkus Reviews and Times Higher Education best book of 2015.[8][9]

Reviews edit

  • Bell, Joshua A. (2017). "The Mushroom at the End of the World: On the Possibility of Life in Capitalist Ruins by Anna Lowenhaupt Tsing". Anthropological Quarterly. 90 (1): 277–282. doi:10.1353/anq.2017.0011. ISSN 1534-1518. S2CID 151793991.
  • Cons, Jason (2016). "The Mushroom at the End of the World: On the Possibility of Life in Capitalist Ruins". The Journal of Asian Studies. 75 (3): 798–800. doi:10.1017/s0021911816000656. ISSN 0021-9118.
  • Helmreich, Stefan (2016). "The Mushroom at the End of the World: On the Possibility of Life in Capitalist Ruins". American Ethnologist. 43 (3): 570–572. doi:10.1111/amet.12356. ISSN 0094-0496.
  • Kim, Eleana J. (2017). "The Arts of Noticing: The Mushroom at the End of the World: On the Possibility of Life in Capitalist Ruins". Current Anthropology. 58 (1): 138–140. doi:10.1086/690139. ISSN 0011-3204. S2CID 152220986.
  • Padwe, Jonathan (2018). "The mushroom at the end of the world: on the possibility of life in capitalist ruins". The Journal of Peasant Studies. 46 (2): 433–437. doi:10.1080/03066150.2018.1492777. ISSN 0306-6150. S2CID 158146861.
  • Pham, Yamoi (2016). "The Mushroom at the End of the World: On the Possibility of Life in Capitalist Ruins". East Asian Science, Technology and Society. 11 (4): 613–616. doi:10.1215/18752160-3667933. ISSN 1875-2160.
  • Sullivan, Sian (2018). "On possibilities for salvaged polyphonic ecologies in a ruined world" (PDF). Dialogues in Human Geography. 8 (1): 69–72. doi:10.1177/2043820617738835. ISSN 2043-8206. S2CID 145037994.

References edit

  1. ^ Britton-Purdy, Jedediah (2015-10-08). "The Mushroom That Explains the World". The New Republic. ISSN 0028-6583. Retrieved 2020-11-11.
  2. ^ a b Smith, P. D. (2017-10-19). "The Mushroom at the End of the World review – life in capitalist ruins". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2020-11-11.
  3. ^ Tsing, Anna Lowenhaupt (2015). The Mushroom at the End of the World: On the Possibility of Life in Capitalist Ruins. Princeton University Press. p. 152. ISBN 9781400873548.
  4. ^ Bollier, David (2017-07-28). "The Mushroom at the End of the World". Resilience. Retrieved 2020-11-11.
  5. ^ Tsing. Mushroom at the End of the World. p. 66.
  6. ^ "Past Victor Turner Prize Winners | Society for Humanistic Anthropology". sha.americananthro.org. Retrieved 2020-11-11.
  7. ^ "Prizes". Society for Cultural Anthropology. Retrieved 2020-11-11.
  8. ^ THE MUSHROOM AT THE END OF THE WORLD | Kirkus Reviews.
  9. ^ "Books of 2015". Times Higher Education (THE). 2015-12-24. Retrieved 2020-11-11.

External links edit

  • Princeton University Press website
  • "Anna L. Tsing - What We Can Learn From a Mushroom". YouTube. Brainwash Festival. December 10, 2021.

Further reading edit

  • Lorimer, Jamie (2017). "The Anthropo-scene: A guide for the perplexed". Social Studies of Science. 47 (1): 117–142. doi:10.1177/0306312716671039. ISSN 0306-3127. PMID 28195027. S2CID 11289335.
  • Haraway, Donna; Ishikawa, Noboru; Gilbert, Scott F.; Olwig, Kenneth; Tsing, Anna; Bubandt, Nils (2015). "Anthropologists Are Talking – About the Anthropocene". Ethnos. 81 (3): 535–564. doi:10.1080/00141844.2015.1105838. S2CID 146289365.
  • Haraway, Donna (2015). "Anthropocene, Capitalocene, Plantationocene, Chthulucene: Making Kin". Environmental Humanities. 6 (1): 159–165. doi:10.1215/22011919-3615934. ISSN 2201-1919.
  • Orr, Yancey; Lansing, J. Stephen; Dove, Michael R. (2015). "Environmental Anthropology: Systemic Perspectives". Annual Review of Anthropology. 44 (1): 153–168. doi:10.1146/annurev-anthro-102214-014159. ISSN 0084-6570.

October 31, 2023
mushroom, world, possibility, life, capitalist, ruins, 2015, book, chinese, american, anthropologist, anna, lowenhaupt, tsing, book, describes, analyzes, globalized, commodity, chains, matsutake, mushrooms, authoranna, tsingcountryunited, stateslanguageenglish. The Mushroom at the End of the World On the Possibility of Life in Capitalist Ruins is a 2015 book by the Chinese American anthropologist Anna Lowenhaupt Tsing The book describes and analyzes the globalized commodity chains of matsutake mushrooms The Mushroom at the End of the WorldAuthorAnna TsingCountryUnited StatesLanguageEnglishSubjectCapitalism Commodity chain Matsutake AnthropoceneGenreAnthropologyPublished2015PublisherPrinceton University PressMedia typePrintPages352ISBN9781400873548 Contents 1 Content 2 Awards and recognition 3 Reviews 4 References 5 External links 6 Further readingContent editThe Mushroom at the End of the World uses the matsutake as a focal point for exploring what Tsing describes as the end of capitalist progress as ecological degradation and economic precarity proliferate in the twenty first century 1 The matsutake is considered a delicacy and is a mushroom that thrives in human disturbed forests foraged by humans in locales as diverse as Oregon Yunnan and Lapland 2 In the book Tsing follows foragers as they search for mushrooms the traders who buy and sell them and the Japanese consumers who especially prize them largely as gifts 2 Tsing highlights both the resilience of the matsutake which humans have found cannot be domesticated and the entanglements between and co dependency of different species or multi species assemblages in not only surviving precarious and disturbed environments but in creating new environments On such assemblages Tsing writes 3 one could say that pines matsutake and humans all cultivate each other unintentionally They make each other s world making projects possible This idiom has allowed me to consider how landscapes more generally are products of unintentional design that is the overlapping world making activities of many agents human and not human The design is clear in the landscape s ecosystem But none of the agents have planned this effect Humans join others in making land scapes of unintentional design As sites for more than human dramas landscapes are radical tools for decentering human hubris Landscapes are not backdrops for historical action they are themselves active Watching landscapes in formation shows humans joining other living beings in shaping worlds The author draws on these themes not only to critique capitalism but also to refute the notion of the utility of a single unitary critique of capitalism arguing instead for the importance of diverse and contingent responses 4 Tsing writes that t o understand capitalism and not just its alternatives we can t stay inside the logics of capitalists we need an ethnographic eye to see the economic diversity through which accumulation is possible 5 Awards and recognition editThe Mushroom at the End of the World has won numerous awards including the 2016 Victor Turner Prize in Ethnographic Writing from the Society for Humanistic Anthropology and the 2016 Gregory Bateson Book Prize from the Society for Cultural Anthropology 6 7 The book was also named a Kirkus Reviews and Times Higher Education best book of 2015 8 9 Reviews editBell Joshua A 2017 The Mushroom at the End of the World On the Possibility of Life in Capitalist Ruins by Anna Lowenhaupt Tsing Anthropological Quarterly 90 1 277 282 doi 10 1353 anq 2017 0011 ISSN 1534 1518 S2CID 151793991 Cons Jason 2016 The Mushroom at the End of the World On the Possibility of Life in Capitalist Ruins The Journal of Asian Studies 75 3 798 800 doi 10 1017 s0021911816000656 ISSN 0021 9118 Helmreich Stefan 2016 The Mushroom at the End of the World On the Possibility of Life in Capitalist Ruins American Ethnologist 43 3 570 572 doi 10 1111 amet 12356 ISSN 0094 0496 Kim Eleana J 2017 The Arts of Noticing The Mushroom at the End of the World On the Possibility of Life in Capitalist Ruins Current Anthropology 58 1 138 140 doi 10 1086 690139 ISSN 0011 3204 S2CID 152220986 Padwe Jonathan 2018 The mushroom at the end of the world on the possibility of life in capitalist ruins The Journal of Peasant Studies 46 2 433 437 doi 10 1080 03066150 2018 1492777 ISSN 0306 6150 S2CID 158146861 Pham Yamoi 2016 The Mushroom at the End of the World On the Possibility of Life in Capitalist Ruins East Asian Science Technology and Society 11 4 613 616 doi 10 1215 18752160 3667933 ISSN 1875 2160 Sullivan Sian 2018 On possibilities for salvaged polyphonic ecologies in a ruined world PDF Dialogues in Human Geography 8 1 69 72 doi 10 1177 2043820617738835 ISSN 2043 8206 S2CID 145037994 References edit Britton Purdy Jedediah 2015 10 08 The Mushroom That Explains the World The New Republic ISSN 0028 6583 Retrieved 2020 11 11 a b Smith P D 2017 10 19 The Mushroom at the End of the World review life in capitalist ruins The Guardian ISSN 0261 3077 Retrieved 2020 11 11 Tsing Anna Lowenhaupt 2015 The Mushroom at the End of the World On the Possibility of Life in Capitalist Ruins Princeton University Press p 152 ISBN 9781400873548 Bollier David 2017 07 28 The Mushroom at the End of the World Resilience Retrieved 2020 11 11 Tsing Mushroom at the End of the World p 66 Past Victor Turner Prize Winners Society for Humanistic Anthropology sha americananthro org Retrieved 2020 11 11 Prizes Society for Cultural Anthropology Retrieved 2020 11 11 THE MUSHROOM AT THE END OF THE WORLD Kirkus Reviews Books of 2015 Times Higher Education THE 2015 12 24 Retrieved 2020 11 11 External links editPrinceton University Press website Anna L Tsing What We Can Learn From a Mushroom YouTube Brainwash Festival December 10 2021 Further reading editLorimer Jamie 2017 The Anthropo scene A guide for the perplexed Social Studies of Science 47 1 117 142 doi 10 1177 0306312716671039 ISSN 0306 3127 PMID 28195027 S2CID 11289335 Haraway Donna Ishikawa Noboru Gilbert Scott F Olwig Kenneth Tsing Anna Bubandt Nils 2015 Anthropologists Are Talking About the Anthropocene Ethnos 81 3 535 564 doi 10 1080 00141844 2015 1105838 S2CID 146289365 Haraway Donna 2015 Anthropocene Capitalocene Plantationocene Chthulucene Making Kin Environmental Humanities 6 1 159 165 doi 10 1215 22011919 3615934 ISSN 2201 1919 Orr Yancey Lansing J Stephen Dove Michael R 2015 Environmental Anthropology Systemic Perspectives Annual Review of Anthropology 44 1 153 168 doi 10 1146 annurev anthro 102214 014159 ISSN 0084 6570 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title The Mushroom at the End of the World amp oldid 1180890892, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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