my current research project, the copper eaters: inventing capitalism in central africa is a history of subterranean lifeworlds in today’s most valuable geological landscape: democratic republic of congo (drc). i begin with a question that continues to puzzle scholars of development and environmental justice: why, despite persistent economic turmoil and devastating ecological consequences do communities around the world maintain such deep attachments to extractive industries?
drawing on community bulletins in kiswahili, kisanga, and french; interviews with miners and engineers; and archives across seven countries, the copper eaters traces the layering of institutions, discourses, and material conditions that have shaped congolese expectations towards mineral extraction and wider capitalist ideas during the 19th and 20th centuries.
