Decolonizing the Anthropocene

Abstract

The Anthropocene debate is here situated in the context of the environmental crisis. The polysemic nature and political implications of the concept are examined. The prefix Anthropos is discussed, especially in its historical connections to environmental injustice, racism, and specism. The concept of domestication is adopted as a heuristic tool to explore some of the colonial legacies that inspire contemporary ecological thinking and point to alternative ways of inhabiting the world, particularly those associated with multispecies ethnographies and Indigenous and Black diasporic ontologies. The core argument of this entry is that a productive decolonial perspective on the Anthropocene can operate as a reverse or counteranthropology of the contemporary condition, in which the present and the scientific attempts at making sense of it, through concepts such as the Anthropocene, are seen and evaluated from the fringes of the hierarchies of knowledge that structure modern science.

From chains to chainsaws: Modern slavery and deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon

“…Far-right ideology justifies and naturalises inequalities, translating into Bolsonaro's policies increasing vulnerability to enslavement and destroying the environment. Not only did Bolsonaro cut funding and recruitment for inspections, which has promoted further land accumulation among the elite (Carrero et al, 2020), he also financially assaulted social assistance programs, cut education budgets and lifted gun controls (Hennigan, 2020; Philips, 2019; Santiago and Akkari, 2020; Taddei et al, 2020). In this regard, the Bolsonaro government exacerbated determinants of vulnerability, by socially excluding individuals with lower socioeconomic status through policy, whilst simultaneously biassing large-scale business interests that worsen deprivation and inequality.…”

“…Whilst elites are undoubtedly enhancing their interests, social exclusion is a social, not individualistic process, therefore ideology's role in decision making beyond economic globalisation is important to highlight (Sikkink, 1991;Silva, 2020). The Bolsonaro government was criticised by documents, interviewees and academics for attacking environmental and labour protection (Ferrante and Fearnside, 2019;Silva, 2020;Taddei et al, 2020;Webber, 2020). Bolsonaro's overt beliefs correlate with extremist far-right ideology, involving racist, sexist, xenophobic, homophobic, anti-environmental and pro-economy sentiments (Fagundes, 2020;Webber, 2020).…”

Is there Room for Other-than-Human Agency in Transdisciplinary Research? An Ethnographic Reflection

“…The contrast between "normal" and "abnormal" in ecosystem processes has been dramatically reevaluated in recent decades. From the theorization about the contexts and implications of post-normal science by Functowitz and Ravetz (1993) and the risk society by Beck (1992) and Giddens (1990) to the enunciation of the inevitable intrusion of Gaia by Stengers (2015) and Latour (2017) to the critical evaluations of the concept of Anthropocene (Taddei et al, 2022;Ferdinand, 2019), nature, science, and non-scientific forms of understanding reality are being dislocated and repositioned in ways that give more recognition to other-than-human agency and promote more horizontal political alignments between science and other (human and other-thanhuman) stakeholders. The other reason for the relevance of cases such as the one reported above is that they present, on a local scale and in ways that are easier to grasp, crucial political developments going on at higher governance levels, such as the scientific panels linked to the United Nations.…”

Brazil’s Emergence in the United States’ ‘Backyard’: Domestic Leadership and Systemic Status

“…Scholars have attributed the crisis to economic factors such as recession, the subsequent increase in poverty rates, and political instability after highprofile corruption scandals (Kiely 2016;Muzaka 2017;Stuenkel 2021;Tarneja 2020). Some have pointed to the role of individuals such as President Jair Bolsonaro and his policies in reducing Brazil's prestige and perception of status (Encarnación 2020;Taddei et al 2020;Stuenkel 2021). Bolsonaro's election victory after the contested disqualification and arrest of former President Luis Inácio 'Lula ' da Silva (2003' da Silva ( -2010 has been a turning point.…”