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Jason M. Kelly: The Anthropocene’s Great Divergence
December 10, 2015 @ 4:00 pm - 6:00 pm
In the early years of this century, the Nobel Prize winning chemist Paul Crutzen popularized the idea that humans had entered a new geological age, the “Anthropocene.” This concept, he argued, captured the fact that over the past 250 years humans and their technologies had reshaped the planet, permanently transforming its complex biophysical systems. His idea caught fire across the disciplines, and in 2015, entire academic journals are devoted to the Anthropocene.
Jason M. Kelly’s talk, “The Anthropocene’s Great Divergence,” will examine the development of multiple, competing cultures of knowledge about the Anthropocene over the last several decades. Focusing on disciplinary orientations and theoretical models in the sciences, social sciences, humanities, and arts, it argues that underlying discussions about the Anthropocene are conflicting historical narratives. The historical narratives that scientists and policy makers ultimately integrate into their models may have profound global socio-political implications, especially given the centrality of the Anthropocene to contemporary discussions about environmental policy.
For information on Dr. Kelly’s collaborative project, Rivers of the Anthropocene, please visit the following URL: http://rivers.iupui.edu/cms/