The Hydrosocial Cycle
The goal of the masterclass was to disrupt the understanding of the hydrological cycle - which is viewed as a natural phenomenon where people are not involved in. The facilitator Trevor Birkenholtz argued that with Anthropocene, there is no water on Earth which doesn’t have a human imprint and is directly or indirectly the product of human action. He presented theoretical tools, along with examples from his own work in Rajasthan. Towards the end of the session, participants broke into groups and discussed their own water problems and possible solutions, which they later presented to the class.
About the Political ecologist
Trevor Birkenholtz is a political ecologist and development geographer with regional interests in South Asia and the United States, empirical interests in water development, and methodological expertise in mixed methods field research. Since 2001, he has been advancing these concerns by investigating the transformation of groundwater-based irrigation and water use, and the construction of rural and urban water-supply infrastructure in the arid and semi-arid zones of India. Birkenholtz is currently writing a book, tentatively titled, Infrastructures of Dispossession, where he examines India’s National River-Linking Project.
Connected Exhibits and Programmes
Grow Cans by Suresh Kumar - an exhibit displaying a sustainable food growing technique
Transforming Water of Crisis to Water of Prosperity by Arup SenGupta - a masterclass on water management technologies