Outer adaptation: working on practical measures to support well-being and reduce harm, ahead of and during collapse (e.g.Inner adaptation: exploring the emotional, psychological, and spiritual implications of living in a time when societal disruption/collapse is likely, inevitable, or already happening.There are two broad paths within Deep Adaptation: The aim is to find new ways for people to be with themselves and one another, no matter what happens.

Deep Adaptation is a way of framing the current global situation, so as to help people refocus on what’s important in life whilst the social order collapses under the weight of its own consumption, pollution, and inequality. No-one knows exactly what will happen, but within the DA Forum it is commonly understood that at the very least, disruption of the biosphere and climate is forcing people to change how they live, and may lead to the global collapse of modern-industrial societies – and also have a huge impact on other types of society. Deep Adaptation refers to certain responses, based on compassion, curiosity, and respect, to this predicament – which different people may view as likely, inevitable, or already unfolding.

Others may prefer the term societal breakdown when referring to the same process. The term social or societal collapse is used here to refer to the uneven ending to our current means of sustenance, shelter, security, pleasure, identity and meaning. The paper explores the personal and collective changes that help (and have helped) people to prepare for – and live with – societal disruption and collapse. She is also a lead on another study that explores new forms of collectivity in relation to the environmental crisis.Deep Adaptation refers to a set of ideas put forth in an academic paper written in 2018 by Professor Jem Bendell, and later expanded on with Katie Carr and others. She is a Principal Investigator in a research project “Young Poles and Climate Change: Emotions, Attitudes and Practices”, funded by SWPS University, which examines responses to the climate crisis among young Poles, including young climate activists. She examines mobility in the context of global challenges, such as climate crisis and environmental justice. She is also interested in responses to the climate change crisis. Her research to date has been focused on understanding the ways, in which migration is felt, sensed and represented, and how forms of life are shaped and reshaped, through the practice of mobility.

Dominika Blachnicka-Ciacek, Ph.D. – She is a visual sociologist (PhD 2016, Goldsmiths, University of London) with an interest in researching relationships between people, spaces and memory in migration and forced migration contexts, with a regional focus on migrants and refugees in the Middle East and Europe.

Deep Adaptation by Jem Bendell