Inside Mountains: Material Extractions and Mythical Exploits in the Americas

ZIAS Lecture Series, Summer Semester 2023

Mountain ranges such as the Andes, the Rocky Mountains, and the Alaska Range dominate the landscapes of the Americas. Captured in, and by, the visual imagination, what we see of mountains, and what we think of when hearing “mountain,” is largely limited to their surface: their shapes as iconic representations, their slopes as key elements in the winter industry, and their plateaus as habitats for different forms of life. Much as the outside of mountains is both a material presence and a projection screen for human ideas, wishes, and anxieties, the inside of mountains, too, consists of living environments, mineral deposits, and subterranean spaces that not only inspire the human imagination but also play a vital role in the extractive ecologies of the twenty-first century.

This lecture series will explore the material and imaginary dimensions of mountain interiors. The talks will cover B-movies in which Americans explore the inside of Mexican mountains; the extreme working conditions in mines in the Peruvian Andes; the horror, dread, and awe experienced when confronted with deep time and space; the myths and realities of mining in the Argentinian Andes; and the significance of Gros Morne National Park in the context of extractivism in Canadian cinema.

The lecture series is organized in collaboration with the International Film Festival Innsbruck (June 6–11, 2023), which will show a retrospective on “World Visions” featuring a film by Salomé Lamas, who will give a talk on April 27, and films discussed in Rachel Jekanowski’s talk on June 5.

Concept & Organization: Michi Fuchs & Christian Quendler