The papers in this session begin with place and consider the ways extraction and religion interact in the context of particular geographies. Continuing conversations from 2023 EER sessions on methodological and epistemological extractivism, this session features scholars each approaching extractivism in relation to a particular place. Panelists employ a variety of methods – textual, ethnographic, and historical – to analyze the imbrications of extractive economies and religious life. In addition to presenting their research, each panelist will offer specific reflections on their methods and the ways these approaches situate their work in relation to land, local inhabitants, local lifeways, and extractivist practices. Stephanie Gray draws on firsthand testimony and theoretical framing to examine the entwinement of settler colonialism, natural resource extraction, and human exploitation in the West Bank. Oriane Lavole’s research on the Tibetan Buddhist Treasure Tradition draws on a case study of Chokgyur Lingpa’s 1866 revelation at Sengö Yamtso to begin to articulate an ethics of extraction. And Emma Gerritsen draws on oral histories of 20th century Appalachian coal camps and villages to analyze the role of land in lived religion.
This presentation will explore the multifaceted processes of extraction in the West Bank, examining the ways in which both natural resources and human lives are exploited under occupation. Drawing from the works of Shourideh C. Molavi and Manal Shaqair, as well as firsthand testimonies from Palestinian activists, farmers, and scientists, the paper will analyze how Israeli settler-colonialism functions not only through the physical extraction of land and resources, but also through the extraction of Palestinian agency and dignity. Through a combination of critical scholarship and personal narratives, this proposal will highlight the environmental, social, and political dimensions of extraction in the West Bank, and how Palestinian communities resist and challenge these processes.
This paper analyzes how Appalachian communities reliant on extractivist livelihoods structure narratives of religious life. It does so by drawing on Robert Orsi’s concept of lived religion,’ which argues that the daily activities of believers shape religious practice. By conducting inductive narrative analysis on oral histories of life in Appalachian coal camps and villages in the 20th century, the paper demonstrates how religion, place, and cultures of extractivism influence each other. I expect to find that religious practice acts as a divine justification for extractivist livelihoods, as protection for precarious and dangerous forms of labor, but also giving it religious significance. However, I expect that the role of land in religion is important as source of religious identification beyond extractivist practice. The oral histories analyzed in the paper are part of various projects of the University of Kentucky’s Louie B. Nunn Center for Oral History.
This paper examines the Tibetan Buddhist Treasure (gter ma) tradition as a model for ethical resource extraction in an era dominated by extractive capitalism. The tradition's linguistic and conceptual frameworks reveal a continuity between spiritual and material extraction: the term for Treasure (gter) originally referred to mineral resources, while indigenous spirits serve as guardians of both material wealth and spiritual teachings. Central to this tradition is the practice of offering treasure substitutes (gter tshab), establishing principles of reciprocity that acknowledge landscape agency and rights. Through a case study of Chokgyur Lingpa's 1866 revelation at Sengö Yumtso, this paper demonstrates how Treasure extraction operates through acknowledgment of more-than-human stakeholders, material reciprocity, temporal constraints, and commitment to communal benefit. These principles offer valuable insights for reimagining human relationships with resources in ways that honor the complex interdependencies that sustain all life.