The Political Ecology Reading Group, organised by the Ecology and Society Lab (ECOSOC), is a space for exchange and discussion that seeks to address the ongoing ecological crisis and analyse the social inequalities that accompany it from the perspective of socio-environmental and climate justice. Our purpose is to reinforce our commitment to actions that build colourful parachutes, to paraphrase Ailton Krenak, so that we may inhabit less desolate, more conscious and radically different times and spaces.

In the first two series, some key themes drove the Group’s dialogues, such as Coloniality, Climate Justice, Cosmopolitics, and Economic Degrowth, among others. In this third series, ECOSOC joins the project ‘Ecoamazonia – Pluriverses of Amazonia’ to broaden and deepen the debates, utilising the languages of cinema and literature.

Between October 2025 and February 2026, we will hold four sessions, featuring discussions of films, literary texts, and scientific works on the following themes: Petrofiction, Psychedelic Plants and Fungi, Transforming into Territory, and Utopias and Dystopias. The sessions will take place on 28 October and 18 November 2025 and 15 January and 26 February 2026, respectively.

The Reading Group will be hybrid (online and in person), with in-person activities taking place at CES | Alta. Those who register will receive copies of the texts in advance. We invite researchers, students, activists, film, and literature lovers to participate in these moments of collective reflection. [REGISTER HERE]

Coordinators: Ananda Martins Carvalho, Eliane Sebeika Rapchan, Joana Vaz Sousa, Judy Moura and Patrícia Vieira, with ECOSOC and Ecoamazonia.