A Study on Petromodernity, the Socio-cultural Implications of Oil and the Disintegration of Human Behaviour in James Howard Kunstler’s World Made by Hand

Abstract

The Postcolonial theorist Dipesh Chakravarthy in his article “The Climate of History: Four Theses” (2009) states, “The mansions of modern freedom stands on the ever- expanding base of fossil fuel use’’ (208). In the present time human beings are accustomed towards high energy intensive lifestyle which is largely fuelled by the Fossil Fuels and modern ‘itions’ such as Industrialization, Globalization and all other entities that have made fossil fuels cheap and easily accessible. The research paper gives a brief introduction to the genre Energy Humanities. The paper delineates on how the non-availability of fossil fuels plays a major role in the breakdown of the society as well as explores the behavioural changes experienced among individuals in the post-oil world. The novel chosen for the research discourse is World Made by Hand a speculative fiction written by James Howard Kunstler who portrays a dreadful society which functions in the absence of oil. The research also sheds light on how Energy resources act as equilibrium between individual and society.