While many philosophical tendencies are associated with new materialism, in such a way that the movement resists a single definition, its common characteristics include a rejection of essentialism, representationalism, and anthropocentrism as well as the dualistic boundaries between nature/culture; subject/object; and human/non-human.
[1] Instead, new materialists emphasize how fixed entities and apparently closed systems are produced through dynamic relations and processes, considering the distribution of agency through the interaction of heterogeneous forces.
The term was independently coined by Manuel DeLanda and Rosi Braidotti during the second half of the 1990s to identify an emerging body of interdisciplinary theory that sought to overcome the post-structuralist emphasis on discourse, while drawing on the work of Gilles Deleuze, Félix Guattari, and Gilbert Simondon in seeking to establish a materialist ontology that prioritizes processes of individuation.
Frequently referenced works include Karen Barad's Meeting the Universe Halfway[4] and Jane Bennett's Vibrant Matter[5].
New Materialists emphasise how Cartesian binaries around human and nature have caused many issues in the world by ignoring social complexity.