When evaluating the significance of the New Materialism for agricultural history, it is crucial to acknowledge that this framework developed out of feminist science studies. Scholars such as Karen Barad and Jane Bennett reapproached what would now be considered the “old” materialism (narrative emphases on how technological and production systems formed human society) with careful consideration of its theoretical limitations. Women's studies, queer studies, and feminist philosophy ultimately shaped how New Materialism manifested as a scholarly conversation, methodological toolkit, and theoretical scaffold in the humanities. To understand what New Materialism could do for agricultural history, it is essential to see where these ideas come from and how they are distinct from previous Marxist materialist efforts.
New Materialism emerged out of much longer conversations about what a focus on physical conditions and things can do in science studies, animal studies, and commodity histories, with some of these discussions overlapping with...
