Nature, manmade

The concept of 'nature' is revealed as a socially constructed palimpsest, deeply intertwined with human history and ideology. Through case studies spanning Riga's Art Nouveau district, Scotland's depleted ecosystems, Australian Aboriginal understandings of Country, and Paleolithic cave art at El Castillo in northern Spain, the study demonstrates that even what appears most organic is historically produced and culturally maintained. It challenges extractive Enlightenment logics by positioning humanity within long, entangled temporalities rather than outside nature. The research employs autoethnography to expose how 'natural' virtue often masks colonial, classed, and gendered privilege, framing landscapes, texts, and bodies as co-produced terrains. This approach invites scholars to reconsider the boundaries between human and non-human assemblages, offering a critical reimagining of nature's cultural artifactuality.

Stanley, P. (2026). Nature, manmade. Self and Assemblage in Autoethnography, 67–83. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003501114-6