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Visualising Anthropocene Extinctions: Mapping Affect In The Works Of Naeemah Naeemaei, Linda Williams

Animal Studies Journal

While many writers have advocated the importance of narrative as a means of engaging with the problem of extinction, this paper considers what the qualities of visual aesthetics bring to this field. In addressing this question, the discussion turns to the problem of the ethical limits of art raised by Adorno and takes a theoretical turn away from posthumanism to consider how visual responses can redirect attention back to human agency. The focus of visual analysis is on five paintings by the contemporary Iranian artist Naeemeh Naeemaei. Neither exclusively Western nor overtly internationalist in their approach, these artworks refer to …

Unfree Radicals: Geoscientists, The Anthropocene, And Left Politics, Noel Castree

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

Neil Smith's writings about capitalism and what we call "nature" were insightful and influential. This paper asks what Smith would make of the "radical turn" today occurring in the world of international geoscience. If we "think with" Smith, how should we view Naomi Klein's recent statement that geoscientists can act as fifth columnists calling the capitalist way of life into question? In the first half of the essay I address these questions. I summarise and apply the insights of Smith's writings to recent developments in international geoscience. Smith wrote about science in most of his published statements about capitalist ecology …

Anthropocene And Planetary Boundaries, Noel Castree

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

No abstract provided.

Anthropocene, Noel Castree

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

Coined by two environmental scientists, the term "Anthropocene" is currently a buzzword in sections of the earth and environmental science community, as well as in the social sciences and humanities. It may in time assume the status of a "keyword" and become an established part of the academic lexicon. It describes human-induced changes to the earth's biophysical and chemical environment of such scope, scale, and magnitude as to mark the end of the Holocene (i.e., the roughly 11,700 years prior to the 21st century). The Anthropocene is thus an epochal term: it proposes that modern humans possess powers equivalent to …

Noel Castree (University Of Wollongong) On Christophe Bonneuil And Jean-Baptiste Fressoz's The Shock Of The Anthropocene: The Earth, History, And Us, Noel Castree

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

Book review of: Christophe Bonneuil and Jean-Baptiste Fressoz, The Shock of the Anthropocene: The Earth, History, and Us (translated by David Fernbach), New York: Verso, 2016. ISBN: 9781784780791 (cloth); ISBN: 9781784780814 (ebook).

An Official Welcome To The Anthropocene Epoch - But Who Gets To Decide It's Here?, Noel Castree

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

It's literally epoch-defining news. A group of experts tasked with considering the question of whether we have officially entered the Anthropocene - the geological age characterised by humans' influence on the planet - has delivered its answer: yes.

The British-led Working Group on the Anthropocene (WGA) told a geology conference in Cape Town that, in its considered opinion, the Anthropocene epoch began in 1950 - the start of the era of nuclear bomb tests, disposable plastics and the human population boom.

The Anthropocene has fast become an academic buzzword and has achieved a degree of public visibility in recent years. …

Living With Invasive Plants In The Anthropocene: The Importance Of Understanding Practice And Experience, Lesley M. Head, Brendon M. Larson, Richard Hobbs, Jennifer M. Atchison, Nicholas J. Gill, Christian Kull, Haripriya Rangan

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

The role of humans in facilitating the rapid spread of plants at a scale that is considered invasive is one manifestation of the Anthropocene, now framed as a geological period in which humans are the dominant force in landscape transformation. Invasive plant management faces intensified challenges, and can no longer be viewed in terms of 'eradication' or 'restoration of original landscapes'. In this perspectives piece, we focus on the practice and experience of people engaged in invasive plant management, using examples from Australia and Canada. We show how managers 1) face several pragmatic trade-offs; 2) must reconcile diverse views, even …

The Anthropocene And Geography I: The Back Story, Noel Castree

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

This and two companion papers (Geography and the Anthropocene II: Current Contributions and The Anthropocene and Geography III: Future Directions) consider the relevance of 'the Anthropocene' to present and future research in Geography. Along with the concept of 'planetary boundaries', the idea that humanity has entered a new geological epoch of its own making is currently attracting considerable attention - both within and beyond the world of Earth surface science from whence both notions originate. This paper summarises the origins and evolution of the scientific discourse since the Anthropocene idea was first proposed in 2000. It ends by outlining the …

Geography And The Anthropocene Ii: Current Contributions, Noel Castree

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

This and two companion papers (The Anthropocene and Geography I: The back story and The Anthropocene and Geography III: Future Directions) consider the relevance of 'the Anthropocene' to present and future research in Geography. Along with the concept of 'planetary boundaries', the idea that humanity has entered a new geological epoch of its own making is currently attracting considerable attention - both within and beyond the world of Earth surface science from whence both notions originate. This paper's predecessor detailed the invention and evolution of the two scientific neologisms, ending with a general discussion of their potential relevance to Geography. …

The Anthropocene And The Environmental Humanities: Extending The Conversation, Noel Castree

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

"The Anthropocene" is now a buzzword in international geoscience circles and commanding the attention of various social scientists and humanists. Once a trickle, I review what is now a growing stream of publications authored by humanists about the Holocene's proclaimed end. I argue 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." Despite their importance and their differences, as currently performed these roles hold environmental humanists at a distance from those geoscientists currently trying to popularise the Anthropocene proposition and a set of …

The Anthropocene And Geography Iii: Future Directions, Noel Castree

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

This is the last of three papers that explore the relevance of 'the Anthropocene' (and the related idea of 'planetary boundaries') to present and future research in Geography. The first paper (The Anthropocene and Geography I: The back story) summarised the origins and evolution of the proposition that the Holocene has ended. The second paper (The Anthropocene and Geography II: Current contributions) then mapped-out the relatively few, but varied, contributions that geographers have so far made to assessing or advancing this proposition. This final instalment looks ahead. It offers readers informed speculation on how future discussions of the Anthropocene might …