Anthropocene

This article argues that a paradigm change in political anthropology might be reasonable and realistic as a way of establishing dams against human self-destruction in the Anthropocene.

With reference to the Satoyama Initiative of the Japanese government, this article looks at how biocultural diversity projects can move beyond reproducing the old dichotomy between “modern” scientific and “traditional” local knowledge.

This article looks at how forest management policies in Ghana have been influenced by desires to maximize timber production, with negative consequences.

This article argues that Planet Earth has entered a period of “neurogeology”: the mental states and resulting actions of individual humans, groups of humans, and the collective mental states of all humans together are creating a new mode of planetary development.

The Anthropocene emphasizes that all of us are collectively responsible for the future of the world. Society will have to legitimize science and technology, focusing in particular on education as one of the most powerful tools for transformation, in order to make the Anthropocene long-lasting, equitable, and worth-living.

Museum exhibitions offer a unique space for creating a three-dimensional experience of the systemic interconnectedness that characterizes the Anthropocene, as well as encouraging reflection and participatory discussion. The Deutsches Museum has decided to tackle the challenges of this new age head-on and become the first museum to create a major exhibition on the Anthropocene. While curating an exhibition, we also tackle the question of how to “curate” the planet in its literal sense of taking care of it and curing it.

Using the examples of matsutake mushrooms in Japan, the Meratus Dayaks of the rainforests of Kalimantan, and the “rubble ecologies” of post-war Berlin, the article argues that we must pay attention to the cultural and biological synergies through which diversity continues to emerge, even in ruins.

Thneeds Reseeds, a sculptural artwork by Deanna Pindell, is a biotactical intervention aimed at exposing and derailing dominant regimes for managing sylvan life. The “thneeds” are fuzzy softball-sized sculptures made from old sweaters. Left in the forest, these sculptures constitute brightly-colored habitats for forest plants and animals.