From the early exploits of Teddy Roosevelt in Africa to blockbuster films such as March of the Penguins, Gregg Mitman reveals how changing values, scientific developments, and new technologies have come to shape American encounters with wildlife on and off the big screen.

Marco Armiero, Robert S. Emmett, and Gregg Mitman have assembled a cabinet of curiosities for the Anthropocene, bringing together a mix of lively essays, creatively chosen objects, and stunning photographs by acclaimed photographer Tim Flach. Future Remains gathers fifteen objects which resemble more the tarots of a fortuneteller than the archaeological finds of an expedition—they speak of planetary futures.

Paul Gillen explores the role of conscious human agency leading up to the Anthropocene, suggesting that the development of sentience in the Phanerozoic eon exerted an influence on the interaction of minerals and life.

This article for the Living Lexicon for the Environmental Humanities section explores the way that humans have conceptualized the future, and how this conceptualization has shaped humanity’s interactions with nature.