Humanity and the Earth / L'Homme et la Terre:

The Legacy of Elisée Reclus (1830–1905)

October 28-30, 2005, New Orleans, LA USA

This year marks the 175th anniversary of the birth of
Elisée Reclus and the 100th anniversary of his death.
On the occasion of this double anniversary we will
gather for a conference to discuss the life and work
of Reclus and to investigate the ways in which his
legacy is relevant to our world today.

Reclus is considered by many to be the greatest
geographer of his age and he is generally recognized
as a pioneering figure in the development of social
geography. His sixteen-thousand page Nouvelle
Géographie Universelle was a monumental intellectual
achievement which, as geographer Gary Dunbar observes,
"for a generation was to serve as the ultimate
geographical authority" and constituted "probably the
greatest individual writing feat in the history of
geography." His work culminated in the
thirty-five-hundred-page L'Homme et la Terre, a grand
synthesis of his ideas concerning geography, history,
philosophy, politics, sociology, religion,
anthropology, and many other fields.Reclus, perhaps more than any other 19th century
social thinker, contributed to the development of a
comprehensive ecological world view. His focus on our
place in nature is expressed in the opening words of
L'Homme et la Terre: "Humanity is Nature becoming
self-conscious." Reclus can be seen as a founder of
both social ecology and political ecology, inasmuch as
he carefully traced the interconnections between the
social, the political and the ecological, and he saw
the solution to ecological problems as necessitating a
wide-ranging, and indeed revolutionary political and
economic transformation of society.

In addition, Reclus was a major social philosopher and
one of the foremost theorists of anarchism. His
analysis of the state, capitalism, technology, racism,
patriarchy, authoritarian culture and the domination
of nature constitutes perhaps the most far-ranging
critique of domination in the history of anarchist
thought. He was also an important figure in the
development of urbanism, was one of the most original
theorists of libertarian education, and made important
contributions to ethical vegetarianism and the
consideration of our treatment of other species.

Finally, Reclus lived an extraordinary life as a
scientist, scholar, revolutionary and human being. He
saw all his diverse activities as integral expressions
of his commitment to the struggle for human freedom
and of his concern for the good of humanity and other
living beings. Biographers have described his life as
an inspiring example of compassion, solidarity,
egalitarianism, dedication, humility, intellectual
curiosity, joy in living, and a deep love of humanity
and nature.  

Conference presentations, which should be in English,
may address any area of the legacy of Reclus, the
person, the revolutionary, the geographer, and the
social and ecological philosopher. Requests for
further information and proposals for presentations
(which are due by April 15), should be sent,
preferably by email, to:
 

John P. Clark

City College Humanities Program

Box 79

Loyola University

New Orleans, LA 70118

clark@loyno.edu