Presenting the Vienna Anthropocene Network
Abstract
As a new geochronological epoch, the Anthropocene presents challenges that go well beyond the Earth Sciences: It redefines the human relationship to the planet in ecological terms with consequences that are also historical, social, and ethical. Bringing together the humanities, social and natural sciences, the Vienna Anthropocene Network comprises scholars from geology, geography, history, philosophy, political science, literary and cultural studies, STS, anthropology and a range of area studies. From this multitude of disciplinary perspectives we engage in assessing the epoch we are currently entering. Together, we will explore the new perspectives on nature, human cultures, and technologies that the Anthropocene urgently solicits. The Vienna Anthropocene Network also aims to convey an understanding of its significance to a wider audience of policy makers, teachers, and the public at large. Some of the questions we address in a transdisciplinary dialogue include: • How do definitions of concepts like "nature" and "epoch" differ in each respective field? • How does the concept of the Anthropocene transform the various disciplines? • Is there any prospect of a "Big History" - geological, anthropological and cultural - in which very different fields of knowledge and different methodological cultures combined to yield a unity of knowledge attuned to the Anthropocene?
- Publication:
-
EGU General Assembly Conference Abstracts
- Pub Date:
- April 2019
- Bibcode:
- 2019EGUGA..2114360L