The mobility biography of things and the climate emergency

Abstract

This article examines the potential of the ‘biography of things’ to enhance mobility studies in the context of the climate emergency of the Anthropocene. It suggests that mobility research should thoroughly consider non-human entities to address this unprecedented crisis. To achieve this goal, the article draws on anthropological literature about the biography of things and new materialist discourses about non-human agency. The text begins by exploring vitalism as a philosophical foundation for investigating the agency of things and their relationship to the biography of things in mobility studies. To address this issue, the ‘mobility biography of things’ methodology is proposed as a valuable approach. This methodology acknowledges the agency and ‘personhood’ of non-human entities, revealing the temporal and spatial entanglement of things by studying their mobility throughout their lifespan. It can derive ethical and political significance without strict boundaries between the social and natural worlds.