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A Critical Perspective on Economy, Modernity and Temporality in Contemporary Greece through the Prism of Energy Practice

Knight, D., (2014), “A Critical Perspective on Economy, Modernity and Temporality in Contemporary Greece through the Prism of Energy Practice”, Hellenic Observatory GreeSE Paper, N.81.

During the Greek economic crisis a focus on energy practice highlights the temporal complexities of local coping strategies. Re-launched in 2011, the European Union supported solar energy initiative encourages installation of futuristic, high-tech photovoltaic panels on fertile agricultural land. Entangled with intricate notions of neo-colonialism and occupation, the solar program provides extra income for disenfranchised farmers and much needed local employment opportunities. However, winter 2012-13 witnessed a return en-mass to ‘archaic’ open fires and wood-burning stoves that locals associate with material poverty, pre-modernity, and pre-Europeanization. Energy practice provides a prism through which to discuss increased social suffering and reassess the place of Greece in a modern Europe.