Making sense of the Anthropocene

* Panel: Making sense of the Anthropocene

* Section: Politics and Governance in the Anthropocene*

* Panel Chair: Dr. Manuel Arias-Maldonado, University of Málaga, Spain

Although geologists themselves are yet to find a consensus about its existence,
social scientists seem to have reached the conclusion that the Anthropocene is
born. Hence the booming reflection in the field upon the sociopolitical
implications of this new age, the main feature of which is the massive influence of
human beings and social systems on the global environment.

However, before such reflection takes place, or at least while it is taking place,
it seems necessary to analyse carefully the notion itself. In fact, making sense of
the Anthropocene is a necessary preparation for devising institutions and policies
aimed to deal with it. Governance, in sum, require understanding, if we wish that
governance to effective. Hence governing the Anthropocene requires understanding
it. Thus the panel focuses on the emergence, meaning and implications of the
Anthropocene hypothesis.

The key questions to be addressed in the panel are: What is exactly the
Anthropocene? Is it a geological time-scale, an epistemic category, an academic
fad? What does it say about nature and socionatural relations? Which are the
implications of the Anthropocene for science and democracy? How should
environmental political theory react to it? How does it affect to our understanding
of sustainability? How can it be communicated to the wider public? What kind of
narratives does the Anthropocene call for?

Manuel Arias Maldonado [[email protected]]