Anthropocene

Justine Parkin’s article for the Living Lexicon for the Environmental Humanities explores the concept of fecundity and interspecies relations.

In the special section “Provocations,” Noel Castree reviews the growing stream of publications authored by humanists about the Holocene’s proclaimed end. He argues that these publications evidence environmental humanists as playing two roles with respect to the geoscientific claims they are reacting to: the roles of “inventor-discloser” or “deconstructor-critic.”

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.

Stockholm Resilience Centre advances the understanding of complex social-ecological systems and generates new insights and development to improve ecosystem management practices and long-term sustainability.

Christopher Williams discusses the personal, social and cash costs of environmental victimization, using psycho-social literature and brief case studies of intellectual disability, road transport, and cross-border pollution.