Abstract:
What form do the current and future catastrophes of the Anthropocene take? Adapting a
concept from Rod Nixon, this communication makes a case for the notion of slow catastrophes, whose
unfolding in space and time is uneven and entangled. Taking the events of Cape Town’s Day Zero
drought as a case study, this paper examines the politics and poetics of water in the Anthropocene,
and the implications of Anthropogenic climate change for urban life. It argues that rather than
being understood as an inert resource, fresh drinking water is a complex object constructed at the
intersection between natural systems, cultural imaginaries, and social, political and economic interests.
The extraordinary events of Day Zero raised the specter of Mad Max-style water wars. They also led
to the development of new forms of solidarity, with water acting as a social leveler. The paper argues
that the events in Cape Town open a window onto the future, to the extent that it describes something
about what happens when the added stresses of climate change are mapped onto already-contested
social and political situations.
