Swelling Horizons: Coloniality, Sea-Level Rise, and their Otherwise
Abstract
‘Sea-level rise’ is widely used to denote the severity of climate change. This article argues that the concept is also shaped by a colonial grammar of relating to the ocean while its use may affectively standardise frontline communities. To reorient such ways of relating to aqueous catastrophe, the article dwells on the concept of ‘swelling horizons’. Noticing the swells of late-liberal horizons generates an otherwise which prompts reorientations; in-between terrestrial horizons and submersive thought, attentive to multiple times and spaces, prepositionally resourceful, and attuned to the racialised heaviness of climate coloniality.
Presentato: 13 Febbraio 2025 | Accettato: 06 Agosto 2025 | Pubblicato 14 Novembre 2025 | Lingua: en
Keywords Environmental Humanities • Sea-level rise • Édouard Glissant • Coloniality • Climate change • Horizon • Critical Ocean Studies • Climate Im/Mobility Studies
Copyright © 2025 Lukas H. Seidler. This is an open-access work distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction is permitted, provided that the original author(s) and the copyright owner(s) are credited and that the original publication is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. The license allows for commercial use. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
Permalink http://doi.org/10.30687/AnnOr/2385-3042/2025/03/004