“Trash pickers reenergizing recycling,” says The Guardian, DW Español labels it “Cartoneros: el reciclado como oficio esencial.” What these statements highlight are two central aspects of the world of cartoneros, or people who collect recyclable materials for income: cartoneros are engaging in recycling, but for monetary rather than social or political reasons.
Although this improvised labor trade has existed for decades, a social, sustainable-publishing movement formed around it within the context of the economic crisis in Argentina at the turn of the twenty-first century.
Cartonera publishing comes about because of the cartoneros own awareness of the broader social, economic and political issues surrounding their makeshift professionThese “sustainable publishers” upcycle cardboard, turning it into print material for non-fiction writing, literature, and art, creating by default one-of-a-kind periodicals and publications. Twenty years on, this once hyper-local publishing effort has grown into a global phenomenon, a kind of sustainable cultural action encompassing varying interests, motivations, and results dictated by regional necessities and political realities.
In this seminar, we will take an interdisciplinary approach to exploring the history and impact of cartonera publishing, connecting green cultural studies, literary studies, periodical studies and economics.
- Lehrende(r): Julia Shiva Abraham
- Lehrende(r): Ana Elisa Gomez Laris