On 9 June, Giuseppe Feola presented the paper ‘Beyond Refusal: Reconceptualizing Deconstruction in Prefigurative Social Spaces‘ at the Grassroots Innovation webinar (part of the Sustainability Transitions Research Network). Social scientists have often studied grassroots initiatives through the lens of prefiguration, generating important insights into the construction of alternatives to capitalism. However, the role of deconstructive…

G. Feola, G. Raj, J. Smessaert and J. Spanier published the paper ‘(Dis)fare comunità in zone rurali: riflessioni su tre percorsi di trasformazione agroalimentare affine alla decrescita‘ in the special issue on Degrowth and rurality in the Italian journal Quaderni della decrescita. Abstract: Il reiterato invito, nel dibattito decrescentista, alla rivalutazione di culture rurali esistenti…

On 23 May, Giuseppe Feola presented at the ‘Settimana del consumo consapevole’ in Carpi. The discussion was hosted at the Community Supported Agriculture La Giuggiola. The presentation focused on processes of unlearning in Dutch and international experiences, generating an insightful exchange with members of La Giuggiola and other local agrifood initiatives.

On 21 May Julia Spanier gave the seminar ‘Surviving within capitalism: “peri-capitalist” agri-food initiatives in Germany and the Netherlands’ at the Centre for Space, Space and Society (Wageningen University) as part of the Seminar Series ‘Theorizing Post-Capitalism’. In this talk, Julia explored agri-food initiatives — particularly community-supported agriculture (CSA) — as spaces of post-capitalist transformation…

Feola, G. (2026). Broadening the Understanding of Deconstruction in Prefigurative Social Spaces. In: Sareen, S., Juhola, S. (eds) Societal Transitions to Sustainability. Palgrave Studies in Environmental Transformation, Transition and Accountability. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-032-07395-2_7 Abstract. Social scientists have often studied grassroots initiatives in terms of prefiguration, which has generated important insights into the construction of…

Feola, G., 2025.  Beyond Refusal: Reconceptualising Deconstruction in Prefigurative Social Spaces. Sociologica 19(3), 159-185. Abstract. Social scientists have often studied grassroots initiatives in terms of prefiguration, generating important insights into the construction of alternatives to capitalism. However, the role of deconstructive processes, such as the refusal to engage with capitalist logics and relations, remains debated…

It is about power! Unveiling power and empowerment in grassroots agri-food initiatives. Grassroots Innovations Webinar, Sustainability Transitions Research Network. Abstract. This webinar examines the role of power and empowerment in grassroots-led food system transformation. It focuses on prefiguration (enacting a desired future in the present) as a particular contribution of grassroots initiatives to food system transformation….

Sustainability transformation: critical perspectives in times of discord. Keynote talk. Social Sciences for Climate Change: From Knowledge to Action, Eurac Research, Bolzano/Bozen, 4-5 September 2025. Abstract. Over the past few decades, the social sciences have established their presence in global environmental change and sustainability studies. They have been shown to be crucial in unpacking the social…

Grassroots initiatives in the context of postgrowth thinking. Keynote talk. Policy Lab Workshop titled “Grass-Root Transformations for Beyond Growth”, European Policy Centre, Brussels, Belgium, 10 June 2025.  

Riflessioni sui percorsi di trasformazione post-crescita dei sistemi agroalimentari. Food Studies Lab, Department of Cultures, Politics and Society, University of Turin, Italy, 5 June 2025, held online.