French Literature Reviews - 2026
Y. Citton, J. Rasmi, Générations collapsonautes. Naviguer par temps d'effondrements
Philosophy, Anthropology and Ideas
Générations collapsonautes.
Naviguer par temps d'effondrements
Yves Citton
Jacopo Rasmi
Seuil, coll. La Couleur des idées
Publication date: 05/03/2020
23.00 € incl. VAT
288 pages
EAN 9782021447408
We watch ice caps melt, species vanish, and inequalities deepen: everything signals that our ways of life are doomed to an impending "collapse." We are acutely aware of the need for a dizzying transformation, yet we struggle to truly believe in it.
How do we break free from this haunting dread—without denying its reality or falling under the spell of its fascination? By multiplying perspectives that reveal a plurality of collapses already underway, rather than a single upcoming apocalypse. By questioning this "we" of collapsology through alternative temporalities, altered states of attention, and eccentric, off-center viewpoints.
Written by two authors, this book speaks to all collapsonaut generations—young and old alike—who have better things to do than be paralyzed by the threat of impending catastrophes. Despairing yet far from pessimistic, they ingeniously welcome and cultivate forms of life that creatively bypass extractivist capitalism. Forced to navigate ongoing collapses, they are already forging unprecedented arts of uprising and assembly—an endeavor this short essay encourages us to set sail for.
Read the book's introduction and consult the table of contents on Fabula…
Yves Citton, 58, is a professor of literature and media at Paris 8 University and co-editor of the review Multitudes. His publications include Contre-courants politiques (2018), Médiarchie (2017), Pour une écologie de l’attention (2014), and Renverser l’insoutenable (2010).
Jacopo Rasmi, 28, defended his PhD in 2019 at Université Grenoble Alpes on new documentary writing (cinema, literature). He teaches at the University of Lorraine (IECA and CREM) and has not yet given up on searching for a desirable way of life.
View the book on the publisher's website…
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An article about this book can be read on en-attendant-nadeau.fr:
"The End of the World is in Vogue", by Ulysse Baratin (online March 24, 2020)
Sometimes, entirely unintentionally, publishers have a keen sense of timing. Confined to my home in a house in Val-d’Oise, I read *Générations collapsonautes*, subtitled *Naviguer par temps d’effondrement*. Publication date? March 2020! When I emerge from confinement, I will send a bottle of (organic) wine to the series editor (let them write to us at the editorial office, I won't go back on my word). Written by two specialists in literature and cinema, Yves Citton and Jacopo Rasmi, the volume explores the scenarios of environmental apocalypse hanging over our industrial civilization. Under the circumstances, reading it gave me the strange sensation of discussing gourmet cuisine during a fine dinner.
The concept of collapse, or collapsology, has gained significant traction in contemporary French intellectual life as a response to the perceived fragility of industrial civilization. This work engages with these themes by challenging the singular, apocalyptic vision of the future, suggesting instead that a plurality of localized collapses is already in motion and requires a shift in how we perceive time and collective identity.
The authors, Yves Citton and Jacopo Rasmi, situate their inquiry within the broader tradition of critical theory, drawing on their backgrounds in literature and media studies. The text addresses the tension between the paralysis caused by existential dread and the potential for creative resistance. Readers interested in the intersection of ecological discourse, political philosophy, and the arts of social assembly may find the authors' exploration of post-extractivist life strategies and collective navigation relevant to their own reflections on the future.