Refuge amidst the ruins

A refuge, by definition, is a place of relative safety. What happens to the concept of refuge in an era characterized by threats not just to the worlds to which we belong, however precariously, but to Earth itself? One vexing question gives rise to another: Must we abandon the idea of refuge altogether? Rather than giving up on the idea of refuge, we argue that the erosion of the conditions of life on Earth invites us to imagine and create refuge amidst the ruins. We enliven our theoretical claims by considering the designation of Duluth, Minnesota, as a “climate refuge.”.