Infrastructure and/as Literary Form

Infrastructure—specifically, protests against the construction of new fossil fuel pipelines such as Keystone XL and Dakota Access—has become one of the most visible flashpoints of recent social movements to protect the... [ view full abstract ]

Infrastructure—specifically, protests against the construction of new fossil fuel pipelines such as Keystone XL and Dakota Access—has become one of the most visible flashpoints of recent social movements to protect the environment, preserve local and traditional lifeways, and slow global climate change. Recovering the origins of these transportation networks in the nineteenth century, historian Christopher Jones has demonstrated how infrastructure is not just a symptom of fossil fuel dependence but was one of its enabling conditions. Building on this work, this paper aims to bring the insights of C19 literary studies to our thinking about infrastructure. What has been the “cultural work” of energy infrastructure? What might be gained by thinking about distinct modes of conveyance—energy infrastructure and literary form—in terms of one another? What is the role of narrative, as a non-extractive form of energy circulation, in helping us contend with the urgencies of our current energy impasse?