Tesi sul tema "Mining capitalism"

The wave of working-class radicalism that swept across France at the turn of the twentieth century has largely been attributed by historians to the pressures of industrialization undermining traditional methods and organizations of labor. However, the Angers slate mining industry experienced a very stable production process from the eighteenth to the twentieth centuries limited as much by the environment as by the economy. Working-class formation here instead must be understood in contradistinction to capitalist-class formation coming in response to those same economic and environment factors. The steady growth of an entrepreneurial class in the slate mines around Angers, France, took place within a legal and social framework that allowed mine investors to begin associating and identifying as a class distinct from their workers. It was against this capitalist-class formation that workers began organizing in order to preserve the social organizations and independence they had enjoyed in the pre-capitalist era.

Between 1889 and 1914, American mining engineers drew on their experience in mining in the American West into management positions with prominent mining finance firms in the British Empire. The careers of three engineers, Hennen Jennings, John Hays Hammond, and Herbert Hoover, demonstrate their influence on British gold mining investment and on the imperial system. The professional biographies of these engineers demonstrate their racialized labor practices, access to technology and capital, ideas about management, and willingness to interfere in the politics and economies of sovereign nations for the interests of the mining finance industry, notably the Transvaal Republic and late Qing China. In their actions in the colonies, they employed the latest mining technologies to extract gold from low grade ores, imposed labor conditions on the basis of race (including the legal foundations of Apartheid in South Africa), and directed investment capital toward profitable mining in support of the monetary gold standard and shareholder dividends. Along with hundreds of other mining engineers, they oversaw a world-historical expansion of the world’s gold supply through the expansion of gold mining on the Witwatersrand in the Transvaal Republic and in Western Australia, effectively doubling the world’s supply of gold in two decades.

These engineers were agents of transnational extractive capitalism and the British and American empires. As an integral component of their careers, they operated in the core of empire: major centers of investment such as London and New York, the media and publishing worlds, and even world’s fairs. They communicated their professional activities and technical developments through the Engineering and Mining Journal, the premier mining publication of the era. They promoted world’s fairs, ensuring that mining was prominently featured as an aspect of civilization at these expositions. They also acted as public intellectuals, speaking and publishing on topics of empire, well beyond the purview of the mine. Based on archival research, contemporary technical journals and media accounts, and autobiographical documents, this dissertation analyzes the influence of American Mining Engineers, both good and bad, in shaping the British Empire and the modern world system before the outbreak of World War 1.

The Winn family were landowners with estates at Nostell in Yorkshire and Appleby in Lincolnshire. Their property was mainly agricultural but included a small colliery on the Yorkshire estate. In the late 1850s the Winns’ land was heavily mortgaged and the family was in financial difficulty. The thesis centres on the successful efforts led by Rowland Winn (1820-1893), elder son of the landowner Charles (1795-1874), to restore the estates’financial ‘equilibrium through the exploitation of their mineral resources. Edmund Winn (1830-?1908), Rowland’s younger brother, supported him in these endeavours, as did George Winn (1863-1952), Rowland’s fourth son. The thesis places the Winn family in the context of the mid-nineteenth century landowning class, with particular reference to their characteristic attitudes to the preservation, management and economic development of landed property. The Winns’previous experience in mining is linked to their plan for a new and larger colliery at Nostell, which they considered the best opportunity for increasing the income from their estates. This plan was overtaken by the discovery of ironstone on the Lincolnshire property, and the thesis investigates the Winns’ rationale for leasing the stone rather than mining it on their own account. The ironstone generated a rapid and growing income and, building on this success, the Winns sank a new colliery at Nostell that opened in 1866. Unlike the ironstone, the colliery was directly financed and managed by the Winn family, who took on the full capital risk of the venture. The thesis investigates the sources of the colliery capital, and considers the running of the colliery between 1866 and 1914 from the perspectives of accounting policy, transport and logistics, marketing and management. It concludes that in establishing and running the colliery the Winn family combined the characteristic and in some ways contrasting approaches to entrepreneurialism and management of the landowning class, and of the personal capitalists who dominated contemporary British industry. The conclusion challenges the suggestion that the mid-late nineteenth century landowning class had an inherent dislike of all forms of industry. The thesis also attempts to contribute to the knowledge of the evolution of marketing and management in the Victorian and Edwardian coal industry.

This dissertation is an historical examination of policy and discourse as it impacts on ecological questions in South Africa, with a focus on land, mining and fishing. It shows how ecological issues are embedded in relations of class, race and gender. It argues that relation of nature and society and social relations form each other historically. Specifically, it makes visible how apparently progressive ideas to overcome the legacy of apartheid have served to perpetuate the ecological crisis after the end of apartheid. That is, although liberation ideology aims to overcome irrational and harmful forms of domination, current strategies of overcoming racial dispossession on the basis of capitalism rely on increasing and unbridled exploitation of natural resources. The dissertation concludes with a consideration of political perspectives and agency responding to the ecological crisis in South Africa today. It provides a survey of government, activist and community initiatives and assesses their capacity to help create a new relationship of nature and society, as the basis for a new society.

During the summer of 2013, fierce protests broke out against a test-mining operation in Gállok (Kallak) outside Jokkmokk, Sweden. Environmental activists joined with local indigenous Sámi in the protest. The incident made national and international headlines, resonating with other instances of conflict between mining companies and indigenous peoples around the world. This thesis aims to explore political discourses and historical narratives behind those, and other, protests and tensions in relation to mining between, on the one hand, the Swedish state which express – through various institutions – to be a proud 'mining nation' with a firm environmental legislation, and, on the other, indigenous Sámi in the Swedish north. Using discourse analysis in combination with a novel application of concepts from narrative theory (the concept of masterplots), the narratives and ideologies of the national institutions responsible for decision-making in mining affairs in Sweden – the government, the parliament, and the Mining Inspectorate – are investigated by analyzing various written and verbal sources. The investigation show a coherent trend within the institutions in making the Sámi people, their rights to land and water, and Sweden's colonial history towards them and their land, Sápmi, invisible, misunderstood, and/or belittled. Mining is understood as an evidently vital and typically Swedish industry, fundamental for the rise of Sweden as a modern welfare state, and an industry which 'makes the world better' by providing the necessary raw materials for the (assumed) inevitable progress and benefit of (western) technology and (western) civilization. The exclusion of certain histories allow for a hegemony in which a certain future is naturalized, made out to be unavoidable. Furthermore, the plot structures employed to create and sustain the hegemony draw on several colonial masterplots. The conclusion of this thesis is that the hegemonic discourse sustains a colonial attitude towards Sápmi and the Sámi people, without it ever being expressed nor understood as such.

Following years of speculation about the potential economic value of mineral deposits in northeastern Minnesota, the first full-scale attempts to exploit that potential began in 1882. That year, the Minnesota Iron Company (MIC) imported dozens of miners to start extracting iron ore from the Soudan Mine on the south shore of Lake Vermilion. They concurrently imported hundreds of men to Agate Bay on the north shore of Lake Superior, approximately 70 miles south of the mine. The MIC selected Agate Bay as the spot for their ore shipping port and they needed men to start the simultaneous construction of an ore dock in the harbor and a railroad north from the harbor to the mine. Immediately after choosing Agate Bay as the spot for their shipping port location, the MIC bought up all the land along the north and west sides of Agate Bay except for a four-acre parcel that owner Thomas Sexton refused to sell. As the MIC-controlled community of Two Harbors developed around it, Sexton's parcel, which he platted as the community of Agate Bay, remained outside of company control. It quickly developed a reputation as a sea of iniquity that eventually became known as "Hell's Four Acres," which included a particularly notorious section called Whiskey Row. Sexton's platted community of Agate Bay existed for just a few years before the iron company acquired it early in 1886. At that point the company removed or demolished all of the remaining structures and covered much of what had been the settlement of Agate Bay with a coal storage platform. This project examines the town site of Agate Bay by looking at the documentary information in the historical record as well as the material culture remains recovered during archaeological excavations. Agate Bay is examined in terms of its position in a world economy (World Systems Theory) with consideration of the potential impacts of industrial capitalism.

A partire dal contesto fertile e dinamico della Provincia Nord in Nuova Caledonia e della recente costruzione di un’industria di trattamento del nichel (Koniambo-Nickel) la tesi vuole far emergere la peculiarità di un milieu nel quale è la popolazione autoctona stessa, o meglio una sua parte significativa, a impegnarsi a de-costruire una concezione demoniaca e coloniale dell’industrializzazione. Con un impianto che mescola etnografia e riferimenti teorici volto a far emergere in ogni parte l’interazione tra attori, pratiche e discorsi, la tesi è suddivisa in tre macro-sezioni che presentano ciascuna un focus diverso (politico, ambientale ed economico) da cui guardare lo stesso “oggetto di studio”: l’engagement dei Kanak nel settore minerario e metallurgico. Nello specifico, nella prima parte si analizza come gli indipendentisti kanak, azionisti maggioritari di uno dei più importanti impianti di trattamento del nichel al mondo, organizzano la problematica coesistenza tra il capitalismo e le economie morali in un periodo contrassegnato da un processo di decolonizzazione. Nella seconda parte, l’attività mineraria viene riletta attraverso la lente della metafisica Kanak. Analizzando l’intersezione tra l’economia delle miniere e il mondo invisibile degli spiriti e degli antenati, si supera l’idea di una cultura e di un’economia considerate come “fuori” dall’ambiente. La terza parte, infine, è dedicata a far emergere l’intreccio tra la governance locale e la governance d’impresa, così come le modalità economiche di inclusione (ed esclusione) della comunità locale nel progetto Koniambo. Il caso etnografico in questione risulta peculiare in quanto fa emergere uno spazio intermedio alla rigida dicotomia tra assoggettamento e resistenza. I Kanak, decolonizzando il nichel, cercano di scrollarsi di dosso l’eredità coloniale pur sapendo di restarne in qualche modo prigionieri. Scelgono di farlo disinnescando dall’interno quei meccanismi di diseguaglianza e di esclusione prodotti dalle politiche coloniali e dal monopolio minerario francese. Si riappropriano della risorsa ripensandola secondo un modello che vuole differire da quello della classica enclave. Non si tratta tanto di un processo di indigenizzazione ma di una volontà di esserci nella “modernità” e nel mercato globale, apportando al contempo la propria impronta culturale. Questa tesi non si limita ad una lettura neoliberista e post-coloniale che si concentra sulle dimensioni di violenza e sfruttamento riducendo l’incontro/scontro coloniale a delle rigide dicotomie. Focalizzando la lente etnografica soltanto sull’azione di estrazione della risorsa e di rimozione della terra, si rischia di “extrahĕre”, “trarre fuori”, anche quei margini e quei residui in cui il capitalismo e la cultura entrano in relazione e contribuiscono a creare la “località”. E’ alla montagna che invece si volge lo sguardo etnografico. Questa non è un mero sostrato materiale che fa da sfondo all’incontro tra la multinazionale e il paesaggio, bensì un insieme di relazioni ambientali e quindi di pratiche culturali. La montagna è laddove si intersecano forze economiche e forze religiose, in cui si gioca la ricerca dell’equilibrio tra la coutume e le pratiche imprenditoriali contemporanee e si stabiliscono nuovi modelli che riconoscono la connessione sociale delle imprese. E’ in questo senso che il minescape appare come una co-abitazione di spazi, una configurazione di attori umani e non umani che non si dà mai una volta per tutte.
Starting from the fertile and dynamic context of the Northern Province of New Caledonia and the recent construction of a nickel processing industry, the thesis aims to bring out the peculiarity of a milieu in which it is the indigenous population itself, or rather a significant part of it, to engage in a deconstruction of a demonic and colonial conception of industrialisation. With a mix of ethnography and theoretical references aimed at showing the interaction between actors, practices and discourses, the thesis is divided into three macro-sections (political, environmental and economic), each presenting a different reading lens to analyse the same "object of study”: the engagement of Kanak in the mining and metallurgical sector. Specifically, the first part analyses how the Kanak independentists, majority shareholders of one of the most important nickel treatment plants in the world, organise the problematic coexistence between capitalism and moral economies in a period marked by a process of decolonisation. In the second part, mining activity is re-read through the lens of Kanak metaphysics. By analysing the intersection between the mining economy and the invisible world of spirits and ancestors, we overcome the idea of a culture and economy considered as "outside" the environment. The third part, finally, is dedicated to bring out the intertwining of local governance and corporate governance, as well as the economic modalities of inclusion (and exclusion) of the local community in the Koniambo project. This ethnographic case is peculiar in that it reveals an intermediate space to the rigid dichotomy between subjection and resistance. Kanaks, by decolonising nickel, try to shake off their colonial heritage while knowing that they remain somehow prisoners of it. They choose to do so by unleashing from within those mechanisms of inequality and exclusion produced by colonial policies and the French mining monopoly. They re-appropriate the resource by rethinking it according to a model that wants to differ from that of the classic enclave. It is not so much a process of indigenisation but a desire to be in "modernity" and in the global marketplace, while at the same time bringing its own cultural imprint. This thesis is not limited to a neoliberal and post-colonial reading that focuses on the dimensions of violence and exploitation, reducing the colonial encounter/clash to rigid dichotomies. Focusing the ethnographic lens only on the action of extracting the resource and removing the earth, there is a risk of "extrahĕre", "drawing out", even those margins and residues where capitalism and culture come into relation and contribute to create the "local". It is to the mountain that we turn our ethnographic gaze instead. This is not a mere material substratum that is the background of the encounter between the multinational company and the landscape, but a set of environmental relations and therefore of cultural practices. The mountain is where economic and religious forces intersect, where the search for a balance between coutume and contemporary business practices is played out and new models are established that recognise the social connection of businesses. It is in this sense that the “minescape" appears as a co-habitation of spaces, a configuration of human and non-human actors that is never given once and for all.

The aim of this thesis is to centre three people’s stories, their experiences and un-­ derstandings of the Swedish planning framework for mining establishments. The sto-­ ries centred are from Sami people whom in different ways analyses, questions, chal-­ lenges and changes the diverse expressions of colonialism, racism and capitalism within this framework. Through centring indigenous and decolonial planning this the-­ sis tries to expose colonial planning practices and how indigenous knowledges, worldviews and perspectives are made marginalised. But at the same time it reformu-­ lates, reconstruct and reimagines planning where non-­hierarchical and relational thinking is centred. This thesis is made through guidance of (mainly) indigenous and decolonial theories, methodologies and methods.

Recently, there has been a growth of risk-based governance in coal mining safety regulation in many European and commonwealth countries. However, it is puzzling that the progress is much slower in the U.S. This dissertation seeks to explore this puzzle by examining the question what are the barriers keeping the American coal mining industry and the U.S. government from moving toward risk-based governance? Based on the theoretical framework introduced by Braithwaite and Drahos (2000), particularly the theory of modeling, this research found three major barriers that keep the American coal mining industry from fully embracing the model of risk management. First, the existence of a large number of small operators prevents this model from being diffused in the industry. Second, increasingly prescriptive regulations have consumed the resources that companies could use to develop risk management systems and have created a mentality of compliance that is not compatible with the idea of risk management. Third, a group of model mongers, missionaries, and mercenaries have advocated a competing model â behavior-based safety â that is more attractive to the industry. This dissertation also found that the lack of three factors helps explain the failure of the U.S. governmentâ s move toward risk-based governance: (1) strong imitative pressure from general occupational heath and safety (OHS) regulation; (2) strong model mongers, missionaries, and mercenaries; and (3) webs of dialogue.
Ph. D.

La thèse a pour objet de décrire, caractériser et analyser le nouveau scénario développé à Tocopilla (Chili) pour l’installation d’une puissance pour alimenter les mines de cuivre à Chuquicamata et de salpêtre dans l’Atacama par des capitaux américains. Létude porte sur l’inclusion, la transformation et les dérives du capitalisme minier, ayant développé diverses asymétries qui ont frappé la population jusqu’a aujourd´hui, ce qui transforme la ville en un pôle technologique, génerant de relations coloniales avec la population, faisant de Tocopilla une périphérie étudiée sous l’influence de l’État en raison d’une économie coloniale qui a profondément affecté l’environnement
The thesis aims to describe, characterize and analyze the new scenario that was developed in Tocopilla (Chile) by means of the installation of a thermo power station to energize the copper mining in Chuquicamata and the mining of nitrate in the Atacama desert through american capitals. The inclusion, transformation and derivations of mining capitalism are studied. They developed numerous asymmetries that impacted the population until the present time. Converting the settlement into a technological pole, establishing colonial relations with the population and establishing Tocopilla in a periphery by the influence of the State, due to the effect of a colonial economy that deeply affected the environment
La tesis tiene como objetivo describir, caracterizar y analizar el nuevo escenario que se desarrolló en Tocopilla (Chile) por la instalación de una termoeléctrica para energizar la minería de cobre en Chuquicamata y la minería del salpetre en el desierto de Atacama a través de capitales estadounidenses. Se estudia la inclusión, la transformación y las derivaciones del capitalismo minero que desarrolló diversas asimetrías que impactaron profundamente a la población hasta el tiempo presente, tornando al poblado en un polo tecnológico, estableciéndose relaciones coloniales con la población, además de constituir a Tocopilla en una periferia ante la influencia del Estado por efecto de una economía colonial que afectó profundamente al medio ambiente

La perspective des conflits miniers et des processus de développement qu’assume cette thèse, part du principe que les acteurs ne sont pas statiques : plutôt, qu’ils sont pourvus d’une densité historique autant qu’ils subissent des changements drastiques qui se manifestent en deux dimensions. À court terme, dans le moment précis où les événements se produisent ; et à long terme, c’est-à-dire, de durée moyenne et longue au fil du temps, ce qui aide à configurer des cycles et des processus historiques. J’ai cherché à aborder le sujet à travers l’analyse de cas, et les couches historiques : modernité initiale des XVIII et XIXe siècle ; puis, développementisme de l’emphase extractive des XXe et XXIe siècles dans les Amériques. Puis, le contexte des années 1990 pour analyser les conflits miniers emblématiques du Pérou, jusqu’à arriver à l’étude de cas du projet minière Las Bambas de 2004 à 2018.La question et l’objectif principal de la présente thèse doctorale est : quelle est la relation entre environnement, conflits miniers et processus de développement au Pérou ? À partir de cette question centrale, je précise que les discours sur les modèles de développement au Pérou incorporent des conceptions du développement qui entrent en relation avec l’idée de tirer profit des ressources naturelles par le biais d’investissements et de leur rente, de façon subordonnée à l’activité minière – ce qui devient un discours et une pratique officielle dans le cadre d’une nouvelle dynamique productive. Les significations de l’environnement entrent en relation avec leur capacité de subventionner les processus de développement minier, de telle sorte que les possibilités de prise de décision sur la nature et de mise en œuvre de modalités de production locale s’en trouvent limitées ; tout comme se trouvent fragilisées les institutions garantes du droit à un environnement sain et équilibré.Cette thèse propose de revenir sur la trajectoire historique des processus de transformation politique et territoriale du département d’Apurímac et des provinces de Grau et Cotabambas, pour ensuite aborder la manière dont la concession du projet minier Las Bambas s’y insère. L’étude de cas de cette thèse est une chronologie du projet Las Bambas, à partir de laquelle je montre comment se manifestent les impacts environnementaux et sociaux provoqués par l’exploitation des métaux entre 2004 et 2018 dans la province de Cotabambas en Apurímac, et au Pérou. A partir de l’information collectée sur la dynamique du conflit, je montre comment la question environnementale et les transformations territoriales restent subordonnées ou invisibles dans les propositions, qui priorisent la rentabilité et la croissance économique dans le développement local.La thèse remet en question l’idée que les conflits miniers ne seraient conditionnés que par la distribution et la gestion des bénéfices dérivés de l’exploitation et de la production minière. Elle montre que les conditions favorables au fonctionnement des projets miniers s’articulent à la dégradation, à l’épuisement et au fractionnement de l’accès à la terre, à l’eau et à l’air, qui « minéralisent » et qui scindent les relations sociales et culturelles, et la vie communautaire, en tant que caractéristique de la condition extractive dans les régions minières
The perspective of mining conflicts and development processes in this research is that the protagonists are not static, but have both historical density and dramatic changes that happen in two dimensions; in the short term, at the current moment in which the events occur; and, in the long term, namely, of long and medium duration through time, which helps to configure historical cycles and processes. A nearness to the subject has been sought through an analysis of cases by historical layers, early modernity from the 18th to the 19th centuries; and, later neoliberal development of the 20th and 21st centuries in the Americas. Next, the 90s context to analyze the emblematic mining conflicts in Peru, till reaching the study case Las Bambas mining project from 2004 to 2018.The main question and aim of this thesis research are to answer: What is the relationship among the environment, mining conflicts and development processes in the country? Based on this principal question, I specify that the discourses on the development models in the country include conceptions of development that are related to the idea of taking advantage of natural resources through investments and their income. So that, therefore, the possibilities of making decisions about nature and promoting ways of production of local populations are limited, just as the institutions guarantee the right to a healthy and balanced environment are weakened.In the third part of the thesis, I make a historical review of the political and territorial transformation processes of the department of Apurímac and Grau and Cotabambas provinces, in order to address how Las Bambas mining project concession is inserted in them. The case study of this thesis is the timeline of Las Bambas project, from which I prove how the environmental and social impacts generated by the exploitation of metals occur between 2004 and 2018 years, in Cotabambas province in Apurimac, Peru. From them on the information collection about the conflict’s dynamics, I show how the environmental issue and territorial transformations keep subordinated or invisible in the proposals, where profitability and economic growth are prioritized in local development.The thesis cast on doubt on the position that mining conflicts are just conditioned by the distribution and administration of the benefits obtained from mining exploitation and production. In it, I show that the conditions that support the operation of mining projects are connected to the deterioration, depletion, and fragmentation of access to ground, water and air, which permeates "mineralizes", and as well divides social and cultural relationships, and community life, like an extractive condition characteristic in the mining areas where it operates
La perspectiva de los conflictos mineros y los procesos de desarrollo que asume esta tesis supone que los actores no son estáticos sino que están dotados de una densidad histórica en la medida en que experimentan cambios drásticos que se manifiestan en dos dimensiones. A corto plazo, en el momento preciso en que ocurren los hechos; y largo plazo, es decir, mediano y largo plazo en el tiempo, lo que ayuda a configurar ciclos y procesos históricos. Busqué abordar el tema a través del análisis de casos y capas históricas: la modernidad inicial de los siglos XVIII y XIX; luego, el desarrollismo del énfasis extractivista de los siglos XX y XXI en las Américas. Luego, el contexto de la década de 1990 para analizar los conflictos mineros emblemáticos del Perú, hasta llegar al caso de estudio del proyecto minero Las Bambas de 2004 a 2018.La pregunta y objetivo principal de esta tesis doctoral es: ¿cuál es la relación entre medio ambiente, conflictos mineros y procesos de desarrollo en el Perú? Partiendo de esta cuestión central, puntualizo que los discursos sobre los modelos de desarrollo en el Perú incorporan concepciones de desarrollo que se relacionan con la idea de aprovechamiento de los recursos naturales a través de inversiones y su renta, de manera subordinada a la actividad minera –que se convierte en discurso y una práctica oficial en el marco de una nueva dinámica productiva. Los significados de medio ambiente se relacionan con su capacidad para subsidiar los procesos de desarrollo minero, por lo que se limitan las posibilidades de toma de decisiones sobre la naturaleza e implementación de los modos productivos locales; así como se debilitan las instituciones que garantizan el derecho a un medio ambiente sano y equilibrado.Esta tesis propone retomar la trayectoria histórica de los procesos de transformación política y territorial del departamento de Apurímac y las provincias de Grau y Cotabambas, para luego abordar la forma en que se encuadra en ella la concesión del proyecto minero Las Bambas. El caso de estudio de esta tesis es una cronología del proyecto Las Bambas, a partir del cual muestro cómo se manifiestan los impactos ambientales y sociales provocados por la explotación de metales entre los años 2004 y 2018 en la provincia de Cotabambas en Apurímac, y en el Perú. A partir de la información recabada sobre la dinámica del conflicto, muestro cómo el tema ambiental y las transformaciones territoriales quedan subordinados o invisibilizados en las propuestas, que priorizan la rentabilidad y el crecimiento económico en el desarrollo local.La tesis cuestiona la idea de que los conflictos mineros sólo están condicionados por la distribución y gestión de los beneficios derivados de la explotación y producción minera. Muestra que las condiciones favorables para el funcionamiento de los proyectos mineros están vinculadas a la degradación, agotamiento y fragmentación del acceso a la tierra, el agua y el aire, que “mineralizan” y escinden las relaciones sociales, culturales y la vida comunitaria, como característica de la condición extractiva en las regiones mineras

This thesis asks how neoliberal enclavisation produces precarity. It focuses on eight months of fieldwork on large-scale dispossession of rural and peri-urban populations caused by the coal mining enclave in Tete, Mozambique, and my interpretation of Judith Butler's work on precarity, Henri Lefebvre's conceptualisation of the production of capitalist social space and Jacque Ranciere's understanding of politics. Bringing theory and empirical research together, I construct an original theoretical approach to explore how precarity as a condition of life, as well as the (im)possibility of politics, is constituted by contemporary capitalist expansion in Mozambique. I explore how precarity is produced through the interplay of structural, symbolic and direct violence of contemporary capitalist expansion, such as the coal mining enclave and resettlement sites inhabited by the dispossessed populations, in Tete. These processes of precarisation, I argue, result in the non-politics of abandonment that, whilst enabling life to be lived on precarious terms at the margins of the neoliberal mining enclave, does not openly challenge and only unwillingly reinforces the socio-material order of the neoliberal enclave. I demonstrate how this dynamic reconstitutes the precarity created by the violence of the neoliberal enclave and overshadows possibly different and progressively anti-neoliberal imaginaries of life and space in Tete. I conclude that these dynamics of precarity disactivate the possibility of transformative politics, and thus sustain and stabilise global capitalist expansion in Tete, and Mozambique more broadly. This reading of precarity makes several contributions to the literatures on the politics of precarity. It explores the condition of precarity outside the usual empirical and analytical focus of labour relations in the Global North, as well as developing a spatial reading of precarity. The thesis also challenges these, as well as broader literatures on agency in the context of structural inequalities and opportunities in Sub-Saharan Africa, for overestimating possibilities of resistance in situations characterised by extreme precarity. Finally, the thesis contributes to the literature on contemporary neoliberal capitalist expansion in Sub-Saharan Africa by demonstrating how neoliberal enclaves result in human suffering outside of their own exclusionary spaces of accumulation.

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O presente trabalho investiga o processo de implantação e expansão da atividade agrícola em Minas Gerais no período de auge da economia mineradora e finais do mesmo (1711-1779) a partir do mercado. Nesse sentido, nosso objetivo é analisar o mercado de bens rurais, extrativos e urbanos do termo de Mariana, buscando ao mesmo tempo entender o processo de conformação e evolução da estrutura agrária por meio deste mercado observando as transformações ocorridas no processo de mudança da base econômica mineradora para a agricultura mercantil de subsistência. Para tanto, consideramos a atividade agrária como sendo capaz de conformar um mercado de terras que segue no mesmo passo a expansão da exploração aurífera neste recorte espacial. Construiremos nossa análise por meio das escrituras de compra e venda de propriedades rurais, urbanas e extrativas, nossa principal base documental. Através da análise desta documentação apreenderemos o funcionamento e as dinâmicas desse mercado. Observaremos especialmente os processos que moveram a atividade agrícola e a mineração, buscando compreender seus reflexos na economia regional. Objetivamos também apreender e analisar a forma como os agentes sociais desse mercado se relacionavam com as mudanças ocorridas em sua dinâmica econômica. Por isso, as várias facetas das intenções e das interações sociais são aspectos tratados sob o ponto de vista da formação das sociedades de investimento em negócios (comércio), na produção rural e/ou mineradora, da formação dos preços dos bens desse mercado de bens imóveis do termo de Mariana.
The present work investigates the process of implementation and expansion of agricultural activity in Minas Gerais during the period that comprises the peak of the mining economy until the end of it (1711-177), from the market perspective. In this sense, our goal is to analyze the market of goods (rural, extractive and urban) from the Mariana region, seeking at the same time understand the process of conformation and evolution of the agrarian structure through this market observing the transformations occurred in the changing process of the economic base of mining to mercantile agriculture of subsistence. Therefore, we consider that the agrarian activity was able to settle a land market that followed at the same pace the expansion of gold mining in this region. We will build our analysis through the scriptures of purchase and selling of rural, extractive and urban properties, which is our main documentary base. Through analysis of this documentation we will analyze the functioning and dynamics of this market. Especially we observe the processes that moved the agriculture and mining, trying to understand its impact on the regional economy. We also aim to seize and examine how the social agents in this market were related to the changes in their economic dynamics.Therefore, the various facets of intentions and social interactions are aspects dealt with from the point of view of the formation of business societies (trade), in rural and / or mining production, as well in the prices formation in that estate goods market of Mariana.

With Australia experiencing unprecedented natural disasters, this transdisciplinary thesis is timely. It explores small business owner’s decision making during such events in Southeast Queensland alongside the affordances provided by public and non-profit entities to sustain business continuity. Using interview data of business owners’ and key informants’ from urban, peri-urban and rural communities, this study catalogued their decisions, decision processes and affordances organised around six business capitals. As predicted by the recognition primed decision theory, decisions were quick yet indicated both complexities and competencies of business owners. Fast decisions and political affordances support business owners’ survival during high consequence, disruptive events.

La tesi affronta il tema del capitale sociale e della sua funzione all’interno del sistema delle società di capitali partendo dalle innovazioni legislative che hanno interessato la disciplina della s.r.l. in Europa. Nel primo capitolo vengono dipanate alcune questioni teoriche e applicative che hanno afflitto la prima esegesi delle nuove forme di patrimonializzazione delle s.r.l. Nel secondo capitolo sono discusse le tesi tradizionali sul capitale sociale e sono esposte le ragioni per cui esse non paiono idonee a risolvere le questioni organizzative e capitalistiche poste dall’istituto. Nel terzo capitolo è esposta la tesi centrale: il capitale sociale esprime un concetto normativo che svolge una funzione di governo societario, volto a risolvere la questione organizzativo-corporativa (rapporti interorganici in materia di scelte finanziarie) e riafferma l’impostazione proprietaria degli ordinamenti continentali. Si illustra una lettura unitaria interna alla classe delle società di capitali e il collegamento con la limitazione di responsabilità. Sono esaminati gli istituti del diritto societario finalizzati ad assicurare garanzia ed efficienza, profili non sempre convergenti. Si sostiene la necessità di una rule, ex ante, ad effetto reale, rispetto ai rimedi basati sugli standard e di carattere obbligatorio, individuando un possibile strumento di composizione degli interessi in gioco nelle nuove tutele.
The dissertation deals with legal capital and its function within the system of the Italian civil code rules for corporations. These rules have been recently amended both in Italy and in other European Countries, in particular with respect to the non-stock company forms (limited liability company, Italian s.r.l.). The first Chapter addresses some theoretical and practical issues raised by the early scholarly works that have analyzed the new financing schemes for the Italian s.r.l. The second Chapter discusses the traditional approaches to legal capital and provides evidence that such approaches prove inadequate to resolve the corporate and capitalistic questions that legal capital poses. The third Chapter draws the key argument of the dissertation: legal capital is a rule that fulfills corporate governance goals. It allocates powers and responsibilities regarding the financial structure of the firm and reaffirms the proprietary, shareholder oriented, European approach. This is a typical feature of all corporations, public stock corporations and private close corporations, and stems from limited liability. Further, the dissertation compares the creditor protection rules against the value maximization principle. A rule-based, ex ante approach appears more desirable and a potentially effective and flexible legal strategy can be found in the new legal reserve.

La tesi affronta il tema del capitale sociale e della sua funzione all’interno del sistema delle società di capitali partendo dalle innovazioni legislative che hanno interessato la disciplina della s.r.l. in Europa. Nel primo capitolo vengono dipanate alcune questioni teoriche e applicative che hanno afflitto la prima esegesi delle nuove forme di patrimonializzazione delle s.r.l. Nel secondo capitolo sono discusse le tesi tradizionali sul capitale sociale e sono esposte le ragioni per cui esse non paiono idonee a risolvere le questioni organizzative e capitalistiche poste dall’istituto. Nel terzo capitolo è esposta la tesi centrale: il capitale sociale esprime un concetto normativo che svolge una funzione di governo societario, volto a risolvere la questione organizzativo-corporativa (rapporti interorganici in materia di scelte finanziarie) e riafferma l’impostazione proprietaria degli ordinamenti continentali. Si illustra una lettura unitaria interna alla classe delle società di capitali e il collegamento con la limitazione di responsabilità. Sono esaminati gli istituti del diritto societario finalizzati ad assicurare garanzia ed efficienza, profili non sempre convergenti. Si sostiene la necessità di una rule, ex ante, ad effetto reale, rispetto ai rimedi basati sugli standard e di carattere obbligatorio, individuando un possibile strumento di composizione degli interessi in gioco nelle nuove tutele.
The dissertation deals with legal capital and its function within the system of the Italian civil code rules for corporations. These rules have been recently amended both in Italy and in other European Countries, in particular with respect to the non-stock company forms (limited liability company, Italian s.r.l.). The first Chapter addresses some theoretical and practical issues raised by the early scholarly works that have analyzed the new financing schemes for the Italian s.r.l. The second Chapter discusses the traditional approaches to legal capital and provides evidence that such approaches prove inadequate to resolve the corporate and capitalistic questions that legal capital poses. The third Chapter draws the key argument of the dissertation: legal capital is a rule that fulfills corporate governance goals. It allocates powers and responsibilities regarding the financial structure of the firm and reaffirms the proprietary, shareholder oriented, European approach. This is a typical feature of all corporations, public stock corporations and private close corporations, and stems from limited liability. Further, the dissertation compares the creditor protection rules against the value maximization principle. A rule-based, ex ante approach appears more desirable and a potentially effective and flexible legal strategy can be found in the new legal reserve.

This thesis draws on David Harvey’s concept of “accumulation by dispossession” and an international political economy (IPE) approach centred on the institutional arrangements and power structures that privilege certain actors and values, in order to critique current capitalist practices of primitive accumulation by the global corporate extractive industry. The thesis examines how accumulation by dispossession by the global extractive industry is facilitated by the “free entry” or “free mining” principle. It does so by focusing on Canada as a leader in the global extractive industry and the spread of this country’s mining laws to other countries – in other words, the transnationalisation of norms in the global extractive industry – so as to maintain a consistent and familiar operating environment for Canadian extractive companies. The transnationalisation of norms is further promoted by key international institutions such as the World Bank, which is also the world’s largest development lender and also plays a key role in shaping the regulations that govern natural resource extraction. The thesis briefly investigates some Canadian examples of resource extraction projects, in order to demonstrate the weaknesses of Canadian mining laws, particularly the lack of protection of landowners’ rights under the free entry system and the subsequent need for “free, prior and informed consent” (FPIC). The thesis also considers some of the challenges to the adoption and implementation of the right to FPIC. These challenges include embedded institutional structures like the free entry mining system, international political economy (IPE) as shaped by international institutions and powerful corporations, as well as concerns regarding ‘local’ power structures or the legitimacy of representatives of communities affected by extractive projects. The thesis concludes that in order for Canada to be truly recognized as a leader in the global extractive industry, it must establish legal norms domestically to ensure that Canadian mining companies and residents can be held accountable when there is evidence of environmental and/or human rights violations associated with the activities of Canadian mining companies abroad. The thesis also concludes that Canada needs to address underlying structural issues such as the free entry mining system and implement FPIC, in order to curb “accumulation by dispossession” by the extractive industry, both domestically and abroad.

La vicenda del trasferimento della capitale del regno d’Italia da Torino a Firenze è nota e non mancano importanti studi di riferimento sugli aspetti storico-politici e amministrativi di questo delicato passaggio. Meno indagate risultano alcune questioni più propriamente tecniche, di carattere urbanistico e soprattutto architettonico: in questo ambito la letteratura approfondisce il tema dell’ingrandimento della città scelta provvisoriamente come capitale, ossia Firenze, e dei nuovi significati che Torino, ormai ex-capitale, tenta più o meno consapevolmente di assumere, mentre sfiora soltanto il problema della scelta delle sedi per l’apparato burocratico. La ricerca di dottorato colma, in maniera innovativa, tale vuoto perché, a partire dal trasferimento delle sedi governative da Torino e a Firenze, si pone l’obiettivo di rintracciare il dibattito culturale da esso generato. In questi stessi anni iniziano infatti a delinearsi specifiche politiche per i beni culturali, chiamate a superare i localismi pre-unitari per elaborare un quadro di tutela nazionale: le differenti logiche di intervento, in un’alternanza tra prerogative locali e governative spesso in disaccordo, scatenano vivaci discussioni facilmente ripercorribili attraverso la pubblicistica del tempo e gli sberleffi offerti dalla satira, ricca di vignette sul tema, che raccoglie gli umori dell’opinione pubblica e offre una prospettiva sul senso di un disorientamento diffuso tra i cittadini. Il trasferimento, fortemente intriso di provvisorietà, si presta quindi ad essere un interessante caso studio, una sorta di banco di prova per comprendere quali siano state le difficoltà di trovare un sottile equilibrio tra le strategie di tutela per gli edifici messi a disposizione, tutti di grande valore storico e architettonico, e le necessarie modifiche per le nuove destinazioni d’uso. Un equilibrio reso ancora più precario se messo a confronto con la stretta tempistica delle operazioni di trasloco di mezzi, documenti e uomini. Nell’ottobre del 1864 è stabilito che le operazioni dovranno attuarsi nel più breve tempo possibile e comunque a partire dal maggio dell’anno successivo. In pochi mesi occorre quindi provvedere alla sistemazione di tutte le sedi fiorentine, lasciando uno strascico di ulteriore incertezza circa il destino di quelle torinesi, abbandonate in fretta e furia. Esistono attenzioni e criteri specifici per riconvertire le sedi ministeriali a nuovi impieghi? Certamente le disposizioni sulla soppressione dei conventi e le leggi sull’esproprio giocano un ruolo di primo piano, qui analizzato criticamente e posto a confronto con le moderne teorie sul restauro che proprio in questi stessi anni si dibattono con vivacità. Il tema della provvisorietà accompagna quindi costantemente gli eventi e suggerisce di ricostruire le vicende in una prospettiva storica più ampia, che travalica i primi anni di unità nazionale e giunge al passato recente: nel momento in cui i ministeri trovano una sistemazione nella città di Roma, la celeberrima ‘terza Roma’ destinata ad assumere il ruolo di capitale definitiva del regno d’Italia, vanno identificate nuove destinazioni d’uso negli edifici torinesi e fiorentini. Possono essere individuate logiche comuni tra le due città apparentemente chiuse ad ogni confronto tra loro? L’aspra dialettica tra le esigenze governative e gli obiettivi municipali non determina più ora il prevalere delle istanze del governo centrale, ma si configura in una netta vittoria da parte delle due città. Torino e Firenze sono consapevoli dei vincoli rappresentati dalla normativa statale, soprattutto quella in via di definizione riferita ai beni culturali e, facendo presa sulla sua debolezza e fragilità, individuano con astuzia le pieghe attraverso le quali far emergere le loro specifiche esigenze, anche in chiave di risarcimento per il periodo in cui sono state messe a disposizione della macchina statale. La tesi è organizzata in un primo capitolo dedicato all’inquadramento normativo riferito ai ‘monumenti’, oggi diremmo beni culturali, nel periodo pre e post unitario: il servizio di tutela, assai disomogeneo nelle varie realtà locali, cerca con difficoltà di proporsi in una prospettiva nazionale. Il percorso tracciato, com’è noto, evidenzia importanti criticità che perdurano per molto tempo e non possono essere trascurate nella ricostruzione delle scelte politiche attuate durante il trasferimento della capitale. Per comprendere la complessità di tali operazioni, è stato necessario identificare la ‘consistenza’ di una macchina burocratica così complessa. L’organizzazione amministrativa nei vari uffici ministeriali cambia anche considerevolmente in funzione del peso politico assunto da ciascun ministero, e le differenze in termini di competenze, unità e numero di uffici si traducono in spazi architettonici più o meno ampi, collocati in edifici di proprietà statale dall’alto valore rappresentativo oppure relegati in stabili anonimi e regolati da contratti di affitto. Per organizzare il consistente materiale di studio in modo chiaro ed esaustivo, è stato scelto lo strumento della schedatura delle sedi ministeriali torinesi e fiorentine, che occupa i capitoli centrali del lavoro. L’indagine è stata condotta facendo un costante riferimento alle fonti bibliografiche e documentarie, queste ultime conservate sia presso gli archivi storici della città di Torino e di Firenze, sia presso gli archivi di Stato di Torino, Firenze e Roma, in modo da privilegiare il costante confronto tra la dimensione municipale e quella centrale. Le voci di schedatura delineano in sintesi i caratteri storici e architettonici di ciascun edificio, mentre approfondiscono maggiormente l’ambito cronologico riferito alle esigenze governative e locali sino ai più recenti cambiamenti: l’analisi quindi supera lo studio delle sue peculiarità artistiche, del resto già presenti in molte pubblicazioni indicate in una bibliografia specifica, allo scopo di intrecciare inediti rapporti tra il singolo stabile e le vicende risorgimentali e post risorgimentali, in una chiave di lettura innovativa. Incrociando i dati desunti dalle schede, interpretati anche sulla base del sistema normativo sui beni culturali di inizio Novecento, si è giunti alla stesura del capitolo conclusivo che individua per le sedi ministeriali ormai dismesse cinque famiglie in base alla funzione che le accomuna: didattica, militare, culturale, amministrativa e residenziale. L’indagine cercherà di capire se è possibile cogliere una logica comune di recupero e riutilizzo degli edifici, che diventano chiara espressione della volontà di trasmettere una serie di valori omogenei, nel solco del difficile percorso verso l’acquisizione di una solida identità nazionale. I complessi architettonici sottoposti all’indagine sono stati l’espressione di un continuo cambiamento d’uso, quasi destinato a non avere mai fine. Possibile che le scelte operate siano state dettate soltanto da fortuite contingenze e da singole occasioni d’uso? Poco probabile. L’approfondimento critico dello studio attraverso l’indispensabile confronto con il coevo piano normativo dedicato ai beni culturali, inserito volutamente all’inizio e alla fine della stesura della tesi, ha permesso di cogliere alcuni atteggiamenti comuni alle due città, forse non sempre consapevoli, che testimoniano una chiara espressione di attenzione ad un bisogno di volta in volta collettivo o municipale. E’ stato possibile dimostrare che l’identità nazionale tra la fine dell’Ottocento e l’inizio del Novecento è stata costruita, varrebbe la pena dire strutturata, soprattutto tentando di rispondere a queste esigenze: istruire i cittadini, rafforzare la memoria collettiva e garantire l’unità tanto amministrativa quanto militare, a fondamento di un sentire comune che, almeno nelle intenzioni dei diversi attori politici e amministrativi, presto avrebbe potuto e dovuto accomunare tutto il popolo italiano.

The customary feature of historical mining sites in Far North tropical Queensland is one of ephemerality. Therefore, the chance to study the Woolgar, a frontier goldfield of similar characteristics to other minesites but with vestiges of industrial archaeology still in situ, was an opportunity not to be missed. Furthermore, the Woolgar's gold rush of 1880 later transpired to be the last in Australia's nomadic age as better financed mining companies with more sophisticated technology were able to handle the complex ores being mined at the deeper levels. Nonetheless, the end of the adventurous nomadic age is seen as Australia emerging from a mercantile economy to that of a self-governing capitalist society even though it was on the periphery of a World System regulated by an ongoing financial restriction. Such an exigent economic and technological environment required adoption of a postprocessual methodology with adaptable components of inquiry and analysis such as had previously been instrumental in deciphering the archaeology of other northern Queensland mine sites. Thus a variation on Giddens' theory of Structuration has been used as the analytical framework for the Woolgar. The industrial archaeologies of the goldfield that adapted the surrounding landscape and modifications in technology are the visualisations of Giddens' double hermeneutic of exponential agency that are also seen as the portals to past lifeways. The example of agency within Structuration's duality of structure highlights the unfolding processes of individuals, work groups and social collectives as 'being in the world'. More to the point, examples of agency framed within these motivating structures can only be considered if evidence of change is demonstrated in the archaeological record. Giddens' general classification of a site's Allocative and Authoritative Resources and appropriate judicious analogies produce premisses regarding the Woolgar's economic worldview and the outdated Cornish technological diffusion affecting the Woolgar's production. Past archaeological research of base metal mining operations have a ready source of historical economic material that provides both local and worldview backgrounds of a study. Gold on the other hand and contrary to its mystique has an opaque interpretive milieu requiring a more intensified research. Although gold transformed Australia's world stature, the analogy of recurring restrictive elements of the precious metal is seen as not boding well for future economic alliances. While this thesis applauds new directions in Historical and Industrial Archaeology it still echoes earlier calls to include the economic background to enhance technological studies that have been considered the gateway to past cultural lifeways since the middle of the last century. Nevertheless, this dissertation questions inappropriate analogies from other cultures such as the use of North American archaeological ceramic assemblages to analyse early Australian social mores. It additionally suggests that Australian culture does not need to look to the British Class System to analyse its frontier mining archaeology. Instead, this thesis advocates a postprocessualist humanistic approach to analysing the archaeology of Australia through the wider lens of Structuration.
Disc 1: Beale, A (2006). Ceramic assemblages from the Woolgar, Queensland -- Disc 2: Crapp family hardware store's sales ledger -- Disc 3: Wilfley table in operation from John Forster OAM, ASM -- Disc 4: Pendleton, A.B. (2006). Glass assemblage from the Woolgar, Queensland -- Disc 5: copy of Thesis.

Ce mémoire propose une analyse socio-historique d'un cas extrême de changement social par son ampleur et sa rapidité: l'apparition ex-nihilo, à partir des années 1990, d'une population de plus de 100 000 mineurs artisanaux en Mongolie. Pour ce faire, il offre, premièrement, des outils théoriques au lecteur pour comprendre la tension entre permanence et mouvement qui anime les sociétés humaines. Deuxièmement, il identifie les tendances récurrentes de l'histoire mongole pour rendre le présent plus intelligible. Troisièmement, il détaille les principales caractéristiques contemporaines de ce nouveau phénomène, ainsi que ses potentialités pour le proche avenir. Mais surtout, à chaque étape, il construit une théorie locale et partielle du changement social, qui montre l'impact croissant de l'État moderne et de son idéologie du progrès et de la rationalité dans la vie de tous les individus, qui laisse les plus marginaux d'entre eux de plus en plus dépourvus d'influence sur leur environnement.
This paper outlines a socio-historic analysis of an extreme case of social change in Mongolia in the 1990s, which saw the sudden emergence of more than 100 000 artisanal miners. The first chapter discusses the relevant concepts which assist to develop an understanding of the tensions between stability and movement in human societies and how this in turn produces change. The next chapter identifies the recurring trends of Mongolian history and how that contributes to the present situation. The final chapter details the characteristics of this phenomenon and how it might develop in the near future. This paper proposes a new theory that, applied to this specific case, illustrates the impacts of the modern state on each individual and how it diminishes control from the marginalised groups of society.

Since mining companies depend on debt and/or equity funding to sustain their operations, investors, in theory, could influence mining company policy by making financing conditional on environmental and social performance factors. The rise in Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) reporting combined with the increasing trend of Socially Responsible Investing (SRI) - different sides of the same coin - CSR provides sustainability information to the market and SRI principles influence the investment decisions of investors. The purpose of this research was to gain a deeper insight into the influence of sustainability metrics on the investment behaviour of investors when investing in the South African mining industry. The research was conducted by performing in-depth, qualitative interviews with members of the investment community which included asset owners, asset managers, chief investment officers, investment analysts and fund managers. By and large, the investment community does not consider sustainability metrics published by mining companies when making investment decisions, and the principles and use of sustainability metrics have yet to be integrated into the decision-making process of most asset managers. There is, however, an increasing awareness of the principles of responsible investment and a correlating increase in the number of asset owners and asset managers subscribing to the principle guiding bodies which augurs well for the future.
Dissertation (MBA)--University of Pretoria, 2014.
zkgibs2015
Gordon Institute of Business Science (GIBS)
Unrestricted

Au Chili, le processus de modernisation qui, au début du XXe siècle, s'est traduit par l'expansion du capitalisme et de l'industrialisation a eu des répercussions économiques et sociales profondes. La culture matérielle associée aux industries minières modernes et leur influence sur les sociétés autochtones ont cependant fait l’objet de très peu d’études archéologiques. Cette thèse s’intéresse à l’exploitation du soufre dans la communauté autochtone quechua d’Ollagüe, située dans la région d’Antofagasta, au Nord du Chili. À partir de la fin du XIXe siècle, après la guerre chilienne contre le Pérou et la Bolivie (1879-1883), la région entama un long processus d'expansion capitaliste lié à diverses activités minières extractives. Les camps miniers, en tant que nouveaux centres de travail, ont fait appel à de nombreux produits, services et travailleurs, entraînant un vaste processus de migration et une augmentation de la population. Dispersées dans le paysage andin d'Ollagüe, à 4000 mètres d'altitude, les ruines de l'extraction minière du soufre témoignent des impacts de l'industrialisation et de l'expansion capitaliste dans la région. L’étude des transformations socioculturelles générées par l'exploitation minière industrielle dans la communauté locale est fondée, dans cette thèse, sur la documentation de trois camps miniers de soufre abandonnés – Buenaventura, Station Puquios et Santa Cecilia. J'explore leur histoire à travers l'étude de l'espace social et de la culture matérielle pour examiner l'identité des travailleurs miniers et de leurs familles, ainsi que leurs conditions de vie et de travail sur les hauteurs des volcans. Soulignant les spécificités de la modernisation et de l'expansion capitaliste du Chili, cette thèse aborde la culture matérielle industrielle en termes de continuités, de fragmentation et de ruptures. Elle vise à rendre visible et à valoriser la culture matérielle moderne associée aux industries minières du XXe siècle. Je soutiens que le processus de modernisation, les ruines industrielles et la culture matérielle du passé récent ont généré des espaces de mémoire qui sont aujourd’hui entrelacés avec les préoccupations contemporaines de la communauté autochtone locale.
In Chile, the modernization process, which led to the expansion of capitalism and industrialization at the beginning of the twentieth century, had profound economic and social repercussions. However, the material culture associated with modern mining industries and their influence on indigenous societies suffers from a lack of archaeological studies. This dissertation focuses on twentieth century sulphur mining in the Quechua indigenous community of Ollagüe, located in the Antofagasta region of northern Chile. From the end of the nineteenth century, after the Chilean war against Peru and Bolivia (1879-1883), the region began a long process of capitalist expansion linked to various extractive mining activities. The mining camps, as new centers of work, generated a significant demand for products, services and labor, leading to a vast migration process and an increase in population. Studding the Andean landscape of Ollagüe, at 4,000 meters of altitude, the ruins of sulphur mining bear witness to the impacts of industrialization and capitalist expansion in the region. This dissertation examines the socio-cultural transformations generated by industrial mining in the local community through the study of three abandoned sulphur mining camps, Buenaventura, Station Puquios and Santa Cecilia. The vestiges of social spaces and material culture allow me to explore the identity of the mining workers and their families, as well as their living and working conditions on the heights of the volcanoes. Highlighting the specificities of Chile's modernization and capitalist expansion, this dissertation addresses industrial materiality in terms of continuity, fragmentation, and rupture. It aims to make visible and to valorize the modern material culture associated with the mining industries of the twentieth century. I argue that the process of modernization, industrial ruins and materiality of the recent past have generated spaces of memory that today are intertwined with the contemporary concerns of the local indigenous community.
En Chile, el proceso de modernización que se tradujo en la expansión del capitalismo y la industrialización a principios del siglo XX tuvo profundas repercusiones económicas y sociales. Sin embargo, la cultura material asociada a las industrias mineras modernas y su influencia en las sociedades indígenas adolece de estudios arqueológicos. Esta tesis se centra en la minería de azufre del siglo XX en la comunidad quechua de Ollagüe, situada en la región de Antofagasta, norte de Chile. A una altitud de 4.000 metros y dispersas en el paisaje andino de Ollagüe, las ruinas de la minería de azufre son testigos de los efectos de la industrialización y de la expansión capitalista. A partir de finales del siglo XIX, y después de la guerra del Pacífico que enfrentó a Chile, Perú y Bolivia (1879-1883), la región inició un largo proceso de expansión capitalista impulsado por diversas actividades mineras extractivas, siendo escenario de un vasto proceso migratorio. Los campamentos mineros, como nuevos centros de trabajo, dieron lugar a un aumento de la población y generaron una importante demanda de productos, servicios y mano de obra. Junto con el resto de la región, Ollagüe ha participado en este proceso de cambio demográfico y socioeconómico. Esta tesis explora tres campamentos mineros de azufre abandonados – Buenaventura, Estación Puquios y Santa Cecilia – examinando las transformaciones socioculturales que la irrupción de la minería industrial generó en la comunidad local. Exploro esta historia a través del estudio del espacio social y de la cultura material para examinar la identidad de los mineros y familias, sus condiciones de vida y trabajo en las alturas de los volcanes. Destacando las peculiaridades de la modernización y de la expansión capitalista en el norte de Chile, este trabajo aborda la materialidad industrial en términos de continuidad, fragmentación y ruptura. El objetivo es visibilizar y valorar la cultura material moderna asociada a las industrias mineras del siglo XX. Sostengo que el proceso de modernización, las ruinas industriales y la materialidad del pasado reciente han generado hoy en día espacios de memoria que se entrelazan con las preocupaciones contemporáneas de la comunidad indígena local.

As the century and millennium draw to a close, radical changes affect all areas of human life. Such changes challenge the church to respond to new developments in the secular world. One such development (a long time in the making) is that the everyday life of every human being on the planet is being affected more and more profoundly by a kind of generic capitalism that prefers to remain faceless and anonymous but which prosecutes it interests with a brutality and ruthlessness that take no account of human beings who are themselves neither powerful nor influential - but who may reside on land replete with the kind of natural resources which constitute the essential raw materials necessary for capitalist expansion. It is not only human life that suffers in this rapidly changing world: forms of planetary life suffer. In the context of what we have said about global market dynamics, we are compelled to ask ourselves searching questions about the relationship between God and humans, humans and other human beings, and hnmans and other forms of planetary life. This will partly be an historical investigation into what Korean churches and South Africau churches might share with each other on the basis of experiences of suffering caused by past structures and systems. By understanding the past, historians hope to be able to understand the present and to make predictions and preparations for the future of suffering people. Solidarity is one of the most effective weapons in the struggle against the oppression of the poor. Suffering creates an absolute necessity for solidarity. By examining what the Korean church and the South Africa church did and said in their struggle against military dictatorship and racial discrimination, we shall find the basis for solidarity as a political, social and spiritual weapon.
Christian Spirituality, Church History and Missiology
D. Th. (Missiology)